We investigate the role of the cross decay rates (environment-assisted effective coupling) in a system composed by two electromagnetic modes interacting with the same reservoir. Two feasible experiments sensitive to the magnitudes and phases of these rates are described. We show that if the...

We give a detailed account of the derivation of a master equation for two-coupled cavities in the presence of dissipation. The analytical solution is presented and physical limits of interest are discussed. Firstly, we show that the decay rate of initial coherent states can be significantly...