Emergence of a Metastable Pointer-State Basis in Non-Markovian Quantum Dynamics

We investigate the dynamics of classical and quantum correlations between two qubits. Each qubit is implemented by a pair of phosphorous impurities embedded in a silicon substrate. The main decoherence mechanism affecting these types of qubits is provided by the coupling of the phosphorous impurities to the acoustical vibrations of the silicon lattice. We find that depending on the temperature of the substrate and the initial state, three different dynamics can be found. These are characterized by the number of abrupt changes in both classical and quantum correlations. We also show that the correlations do not disappear. Moreover, before the classical correlations reach a constant value, they may experience successive abrupt changes associated with the apparition of a metastable pointer-states basis. Then a constant value for the classical correlations is reached when the preferred basis is established. © 2014 American Physical Society.