Dissipative multistate systems in the scaling limit.
The dynamics of dissipative multistate systems is studied using integral equations that are derived within the framework of the path integral-formulation of quantum mechanics. As an illustrative example we study a 5-state system coupled to a harmonic reservoir with an Ohmic spectral density with a high cutoff frequency. The dominant exchange mechanism determining the dynamics as well as the range of validity of different approximations to the influence functional are investigated. Besides depending on temperature and the strength of the system-bath coupling, both the exchange mechanism and the accuracy of different approximations to the influence functional depend on the state in which the system is initially prepared.
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