Influence of a sequence of decoherence events on statistical measures of the time dependence of the flow of probability density relevant to constitutional isomerism by proton transfer

The influence of a series of discrete decoherence events on metrics of the time-dependence of the flow of probability density is studied using three examples of constitutional isomerism by proton transfer. Both sampling frequency and fraction of the ensemble subjected to decoherence are explored. It is found that the frequency positions of the dominant peaks in the Fourier transform of time development of probability density are essentially unchanged by decoherence. Transfer times given by statistical confidences are shown to converge to the result obtained in the absence of decoherence with decreasing fraction of the ensemble subjected to decoherence. For sufficiently small time-steps, (high sampling frequency) the quantum Zeno effect is observed.