A procedure that allows us to obtain the dynamics of $N$ independent bodies each locally interacting with its own reservoir is presented. It relies on the knowledge of single-body dynamics and it is valid for any form of environment noise. It is then applied to the study of non-Markovian dynamics of two independent qubits, each locally interacting with a zero-temperature reservoir. It is shown that, although no interaction is present or mediated between the qubits, there is a revival of their entanglement, after a finite period of time of its complete disappearance.

Here is analyzed the dynamics of two-qubit entanglement, when the two qubits are initially in a mixed extended Werner-like state and each of them is in a zero temperature non-Markovian environment. The dependence of entanglement dynamics on the purity and degree of entanglement of the initial states and on the amount of non-Markovianity is also given. This extends the previous work about non-Markovian effects on the two-qubit entanglement dynamics for initial Bell-like states [Bellomo et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 160502 (2007)]. The effect on the two-qubit entanglement dynamics of nonzero temperature in Markovian environments is finally studied.

Revivals of quantum correlations in composite open quantum systems are a useful dynamical feature against detrimental effects of the environment. Their occurrence is attributed to flows of quantum information back and forth from systems to quantum environments. However, revivals also show up in models where the environment is classical, thus unable to store quantum correlations, and forbids system-environment back-action. This phenomenon opens basic issues about its interpretation involving the role of classical environments, memory effects, collective effects and system-environment correlations. Moreover, an experimental realization of back-action-free quantum revivals has applicative relevance as it leads to recover quantum resources without resorting to more demanding structured environments and correction procedures. Here we introduce a simple two-qubit model suitable to address these issues. We then report an all-optical experiment which simulates the model and permits us to recover and control, against decoherence, quantum correlations without back-action. We finally give an interpretation of the phenomenon by establishing the roles of the involved parties.

We highlight the direct link between the time-dependent entanglement and single-qubit excited-state population for two independent qubits, each coupled to a zero-temperature bosonic environment. We show that, in environments structured so as to inhibit spontaneous emission, entanglement trapping and thus prevention of entanglement sudden death occur. We explicitly show that, for photonic band-gap materials as environment, high values of entanglement trapping can be achieved. We finally discuss how, under these conditions, coherent quantum operations can be implemented.

Revivals of quantum correlations have often been explained in terms of back-action on quantum systems by their quantum environment(s). Here we consider a system of two independently evolving qubits, each locally interacting with a classical random external field. The environments of the qubits are also independent, and there is no back-action on the qubits. Nevertheless, entanglement, quantum discord, and classical correlations between the two qubits may revive in this model. We explain the revivals in terms of correlations in a classical-quantum state of the environments and the qubits. Although classical states cannot store entanglement on their own, they can play a role in storing and reviving entanglement. It is important to know how the absence of back-action, or modeling an environment as classical, affects the kind of system time evolutions one is able to describe. We find a class of global time evolutions where back-action is absent and for which there is no loss of generality in modeling the environment as classical. Finally, we show that the revivals can be connected with the increase of a parameter used to quantify non-Markovianity of the single-qubit dynamics.