Non-Markovian weak coupling limit of quantum Brownian motion

We derive and solve analytically the non-Markovian master equation for harmonic quantum Brownian motion proving that, for weak system-reservoir couplings and high temperatures, it can be recast in the form of the master equation for a harmonic oscillator interacting with a squeezed thermal bath. This equivalence guarantees preservation of positivity of the density operator during the time evolution and allows one to establish a connection between the dynamics of Schrödinger cat states in squeezed environments and environment-induced decoherence in quantum Brownian motion.

     

Optimally chosen Nakajima–Zwanzig master equation for mean field approximation

We define an ensemble of projection operators, each of which has an exact associated Nakajima–Zwanzig master equation for quantum open system evolution. A mean field approximation for the memory kernels is introduced that yields a completely determined inhomogeneous master equation for every projection operator. A specific projection operator is then chosen so that the master equation optimally matches an abstract mathematical form which preserves positivity, complete positivity, and correctly equilibrates. We study a nitrogen vacancy center in diamond interacting with ¹³C impurities to illustrate the method.     

General-dyne unravelling of a thermal master equation

We analyze the unravelling of the quantum optical master equation at finite temperature due to direct, continuous, general-dyne detection of the environment. We first express the general-dyne Positive Operator Valued Measure (POVM) in terms of the eigenstates of a non-Hermitian operator associated to the general-dyne measurement. Then we derive the stochastic master equation obtained by considering the interaction between the system and a reservoir at thermal equilibrium, which is measured according to the POVM previously determined. Finally, we present a feasible measurement scheme, which reproduces general-dyne detection for any value of the parameter characterizing the stochastic master equation.     

Master Equation for Quantum Brownian Motion Derived by Stochastic Methods

The master equation for a linear open quantum system in a general environment is derived using a stochastic approach. This is an alternative derivation to that of Hu, Paz, and Zhang, which was based on the direct computation of path integrals, or to that of Halliwell and Yu, based on the evolution of the Wigner function for a linear closed quantum system. We first show by using the influence functional formalism that the reduced Wigner function for the open system coincides with a distribution function resulting from averaging both over the initial conditions and the stochastic source of a formal Langevin equation. The master equation for the reduced Wigner function can then be deduced as a Fokker-Planck equation obtained from the formal Langevin equation.     

Virtues and Limitations of Markovian Master Equations with a Time-Dependent Generator

A Markovian master equation with time-dependent generator is constructed that respects basic constraints of quantum mechanics, in particular the von Neumann conditions. For the case of a two-level system, Bloch equations with time-dependent parameters are obtained. Necessary conditions on the latter are formulated. By employing a time-local counterpart of the Nakajima–Zwanzig equation, we establish a relation with unitary dynamics. We also discuss the relation with the weak-coupling limit. On the basis of a uniqueness theorem, a standard form for the generator of time-local master equations is proposed. The Jaynes–Cummings model with atomic damping is solved. The solution explicitly demonstrates that reduced dynamics can be described by time-local master equations only on a finite time interval. This limitation is caused by divergencies in the generator. A limit of maximum entropy is presented that corroborates the foregoing statements. A second limiting case demonstrates that divergencies may even occur for small perturbations of the weak-coupling regime.     

Non-Equilibrium Dynamics of C-QED Arrays in Strong Correlation Regime

Recently increasing interests are attracted in the physics of controlled arrays of nonlinear cavity resonators because of the rapid experimental progress achieved in cavity and circuit quantum electrodynamics (QED). For a driven-dissipative two-dimentional planar C-QED array, standard Markov master equation is generally used to study the dynamics of this system. However, when in the case that the on-site photon-photon interaction enters strong correlation regime, standard Markov master equation may lead to incorrect results. In this paper we study the non-equilibrium dynamics of a two-dimentional C-QED array, which is homogeneously pumped by an external pulse, at the same time dissipation exits. We study the evolution of the average photon number of a single cavity by deriving a modified master equation to. In comparison with the standard master equation, the numerical result obtained by our newly derived master equation shows significant difference for the non-equilibrium dynamics of the system.     

Dual instantons

A completely positive master equation describing quantum dissipation for a Brownian particle is derived starting from microphysical collisions, exploiting a recently introduced approach to subdynamics of a macrosystem. The obtained equation can be cast into Lindblad form with a single generator for each Cartesian direction. Temperature dependent friction and diffusion coefficients for both position and momentum are expressed in terms of the collision cross section.     

Master equations with memory for systems driven by classical noise

A non-Markovian master equation is obtained for a two level atom driven by a phase noisy laser. The derivation is based on obtaining an equation for the density operator of the system averaged over the previous histories of the external noise. Averaging over the current value of the noise variable by means of the Zwanzig-Nakajima projection operator technique leads to a master equation with memory and a local-in-time master equation. The solutions to the resultant non-Markovian master equation, the structural properties of the equation, and the amenability of the equation to unravelling by the quantum trajectory method are all investigated.     

Decay of correlations in spin systems

We investigate the decay of initial correlations in a spin system where each spin relaxes independently by an intramolecular mechanism. The equation of motion for the spin density matrix is assumed to be the Redfield equation, which is of the form of a quantum mechanical master equation. Our analysis of this problem is based on the techniques of Shuler, Oppenheim, and coworkers, who have studied the decay of correlations in systems which can be described by classical stochastic master equations. We find that the off-diagonal elements of the reduced spin density matrices approach their equilibrium values faster than the diagonal elements. The Ursell functions, which are a measure of the correlations in the system, decay to their zero equilibrium values faster than the spin density matrix except for the furthest off-diagonal elements. Far off-diagonal matrix elements of the spin density matrix approach equilibrium at the same rate as the Ursell functions, which is the important difference between the quantum mechanical model studied here and the classical models studied earlier.Supported in part by the National Science Foundation.     

Dynamics of a Fermi system with resonant dissipation and dynamical detailed balance

The dissipative dynamics of a system of Fermions is described in the framework of a resonance model—the quantum master equation describes two-body correlations of the system with the environment particles. This equation, with microscopic coefficients depending on the exactly known two-body potential between the system and the environment particles, is discussed in comparison with other master equations, obtained on axiomatic grounds, or derived from a coupling with an environment of harmonic oscillators without altering the quantum conditions. The asymptotic solution is in accordance with the detailed balance principle, and with other generally accepted conditions satisfied during the whole time-evolution: Pauli master equations for the diagonal elements of the density matrix, and damped Bloch–Feynman equations for the non-diagonal ones, that we call dynamical detailed balance. For a harmonic oscillator coupled with the electromagnetic field through dipole interaction, a master equation with transition operators between successive levels is obtained. As an application, the decay width of a quantum logic gate is calculated.     

High-fidelity quantum state transfer through a dissipative quantum data bus

We propose and analyze a robust quantum state transfer protocol through a scalable quantum data bus that consists of a network of controlled dissipative modules. In particular, we first demonstrate the ability to achieve perfect state transfer between two distinct quantum sites which are adiabatically coupled to the data bus in non-dissipative situation. We then consider the role of dissipation in adiabatic quantum state transfer via using Born–Markov master equation in the standard Lindblad form. Numerical simulation shows that the dissipation effect on the quality of transmission can be suppressed by engineering the network couplings of data bus properly.     

Measurement master equation

We derive a master equation describing the evolution of a quantum system subjected to a sequence of observations. These measurements occur randomly at a given rate and can be of a very general form. As an example, we analyse the effects of these measurements on the evolution of a two-level atom driven by an electromagnetic field. For the associated quantum trajectories we find Rabi oscillations, Zeno-effect type behaviour and random telegraph evolution spawned by mini quantum jumps as we change the rates and strengths of measurement.     

A straightforward introduction to continuous quantum measurement

We present a pedagogical treatment of the formalism of continuous quantum measurement. Our aim is to show the reader how the equations describing such measurements are derived and manipulated in a direct manner. We also give elementary background material for those new to measurement theory, and describe further various aspects of continuous measurements that should be helpful to those wanting to use such measurements in applications. Specifically, we use the simple and direct approach of generalized measurements to derive the stochastic master equation describing the continuous measurements of observables, give a tutorial on stochastic calculus, treat multiple observers and inefficient detection, examine a general form of the measurement master equation, and show how the master equation leads to information gain and disturbance. To conclude, we give a detailed treatment of imaging the resonance fluorescence from a single atom as a concrete example of how a continuous position measurement arises in a physical system.     

The weak coupling limit as a quantum functional central limit

We show that, in the weak coupling limit, the laser model process converges weakly in the sense of the matrix elements to a quantum diffusion whose equation is explicitly obtained. We prove convergence, in the same sense, of the Heisenberg evolution of an observable of the system to the solution of a quantum Langevin equation. As a corollary of this result, via the quantum Feynman-Kac technique, one can recover previous results on the quantum master equation for reduced evolutions of open systems. When applied to some particular model (e.g. the free Boson gas) our results allow to interpret the Lamb shift as an Ito correction term and to express the pumping rates in terms of quantities related to the original Hamiltonian model.     

Quenched master fields

We derive an exact algebraic (master) equation for the euclidean master field of any large-N matrix theory, including quantum chromodynamics. The master equation is the quenched Langevin equation. The master field, a translationally covariant function of (uniform) random momenta and (gaussian) random noise, is easily constructed in perturbation theory.     

Effect of feedback control on the entanglement evolution

We study the effect of feedback control on the entanglement evolution of two spins in a dissipative cavity governed by the Lindblad master equation. By numerically solving the master equation, we show that the entanglement can be controlled by the feedback based on the quantum jumps of the field in a leaking cavity. With the feedback added to the spins, the stable states with high degree of entanglement can be obtained in absence of the spontaneous decay of the spins, and the entanglement can also be generated for a period in presence of spontaneous decay of the spins. All the controlled entangled states are closely related to the initial states.     

Deformed quantum harmonic oscillator with diffusion and dissipation

A master equation for the deformed quantum harmonic oscillator interacting with a dissipative environment, in particular with a thermal bath, is derived in the microscopic model by using perturbation theory. The coefficients of the master equation and of equations of motion for observables depend on the deformation function. The steady-state solution of the equation for the density matrix in the number representation is obtained and the equilibrium energy of the deformed harmonic oscillator is calculated in the approximation of small deformation.     

Non-Markovian relaxation of a three-level system: quantum trajectory approach

The non-Markovian dynamics of a three-level quantum system coupled to a bosonic environment is a difficult problem due to the lack of an exact dynamic equation such as a master equation. We present for the first time an exact quantum trajectory approach to a dissipative three-level model. We have established a convolutionless stochastic Schr?dinger equation called the time-local quantum state diffusion (QSD) equation without any approximations, in particular, without Markov approximation. Our exact time-local QSD equation opens a new avenue for exploring quantum dynamics for a higher dimensional quantum system coupled to a non-Markovian environment.     

Dynamics of thermal effects in the spin-wave theory of quantum antiferromagnets

We derive a master equation that allows us to study non-equilibrium dynamics of a quantum antiferromagnet. By resorting to spin-wave theory, we obtain a closed analytic form for the magnon decay rates. These turn out to be closely related to form factors, which are experimentally accessible by means of neutron and Raman scattering. Furthermore, we compute the time evolution of the staggered magnetization showing that, for moderate temperatures, the magnetic order is not spoiled even if the coupling is fully isotropic.