A SOLUBLE MODEL FOR QUANTUM-MECHANICAL DISSIPATION

In order to derive the equations for dissipation and noise in a quantum mechanical system it is necessary to include the equations of motion of a suitably chosen bath interacting with the system. In this way the standard treatment arrives at an approximate master equation for the density matrix of the system, at the expense of a number of ad hoc assumptions. These assumptions are here scrutinized on the basis of an exactly soluble model. The conclusion is: the bath must obey certain specifications; the interaction must be weak; and the temperature must be so high that the interaction energy is within the classical domain rather than occurring in quanta. Some additional comments concerning dissipation in quantum mechanics are relegated to an appendix.