Non-equilibrium effects upon the non-Markovian Caldeira–Leggett quantum master equation

We obtain a non-Markovian quantum master equation directly from the quantization of a non-Markovian Fokker–Planck equation describing the Brownian motion of a particle immersed in a generic environment (e.g. a non-thermal fluid). As far as the especial case of a heat bath comprising of quantum harmonic oscillators is concerned, we derive a non-Markovian Caldeira–Leggett master equation on the basis of which we work out the concept of non-equilibrium quantum thermal force exerted by the harmonic heat bath upon the Brownian motion of a free particle. The classical limit (or dequantization process) of this sort of non-equilibrium quantum effect is scrutinized, as well.     

The dynamical-quantization approach to open quantum systems

The dynamical-quantization approach to open quantum systems does consist in quantizing the Brownian motion starting directly from its stochastic dynamics under the framework of both Langevin and Fokker–Planck equations, without alluding to any model Hamiltonian. On the ground of this non-Hamiltonian quantization method, we can derive a non-Markovian Caldeira–Leggett quantum master equation as well as a non-Markovian quantum Smoluchowski equation. The former is solved for the case of a quantum Brownian particle in a gravitational field whilst the latter for a harmonic oscillator. In both physical situations, we come up with the existence of a non-equilibrium thermal quantum force and investigate its classical limit at high temperatures as well as its quantum limit at zero temperature. Further, as a physical application of our quantum Smoluchowski equation, we take up the tunneling phenomenon of a non-inertial quantum Brownian particle over a potential barrier. Lastly, we wish to point out, corroborating conclusions reached in our previous paper [A. O. Bolivar, Ann. Phys. 326 (2011) 1354], that the theoretical predictions in the present article uphold the view that our non-Hamiltonian quantum mechanics is able to capture novel features inherent in quantum Brownian motion, thereby overcoming shortcomings underlying the Caldeira–Leggett Hamiltonian model.     

Master equation for a quantum particle in a gas

The equation for the quantum motion of a Brownian particle in a gaseous environment is derived by means of S-matrix theory. This quantum version of the linear Boltzmann equation accounts nonperturbatively for the quantum effects of the scattering dynamics and describes decoherence and dissipation in a unified framework. As a completely positive master equation it incorporates both the known equation for an infinitely massive Brownian particle and the classical linear Boltzmann equation as limiting cases.     

Decoherence induced by zero-point fluctuations in quantum Brownian motion

We show a completely analytical approach to the decoherence induced by a zero temperature environment on a Brownian test particle. We consider an Ohmic environment bilinearly coupled to an oscillator and compute the master equation. From diffusive coefficients, we evaluate the decoherence time for the usual quantum Brownian motion and also for an upside-down oscillator, as a toy model of a quantum phase transition.     

Relaxation dynamics of a quantum Brownian particle in an ideal gas

We show how the quantum analog of the Fokker-Planck equation for describing Brownian motion can be obtained as the diffusive limit of the quantum linear Boltzmann equation. The latter describes the quantum dynamics of a tracer particle in a dilute, ideal gas by means of a translation-covariant master equation. We discuss the type of approximations required to obtain the generalized form of the Caldeira-Leggett master equation, along with their physical justification. Microscopic expressions for the diffusion and relaxation coefficients are obtained by analyzing the limiting form of the equation in both the Schr?dinger and the Heisenberg picture.     

Exact master equation for a noncommutative Brownian particle

We derive the Hu-Paz-Zhang master equation for a Brownian particle linearly coupled to a bath of harmonic oscillators on the plane with spatial noncommutativity. The results obtained are exact to all orders in the noncommutative parameter. As a by-product we derive some miscellaneous results such as the equilibrium Wigner distribution for the reservoir of noncommutative oscillators, the weak coupling limit of the master equation and a set of sufficient conditions for strict purity decrease of the Brownian particle. Finally, we consider a high-temperature Ohmic model and obtain an estimate for the time scale of the transition from noncommutative to ordinary quantum mechanics. This scale is considerably smaller than the decoherence scale.     

Brownian motion of a quantum harmonic oscillator

The problem of describing the Brownian motion of a quantum harmonic oscillator or free particle is treated in the formalism of quantum dynamical semigroups. Certain inequalities involving the friction and diffusion coefficients and Planck's constant are derived. The nature of the quantum Langevin equation is discussed.     

Two-mode Gaussian states as resource of secure quantum teleportation in open systems

For secure quantum teleportation (SQT) of coherent states two conditions are necessary to be fulfilled: Gaussian-state resources with two-way steering and teleportation fidelity higher than 2/3. We investigate and compare squeezed thermal states and squeezed vacuum states as initial resource states for SQT in an open quantum system, consisting of two uncoupled harmonic oscillators interacting with a thermal environment. The evolution of the open system is obtained in terms of the covariance matrix, by using the Gorini-Kossakowski-Lindblad-Sudarshan master equation. The SQT conditions are satisfied in a longer period of time in the case of initial squeezed vacuum states, therefore these states are better resource states for SQT than squeezed thermal states. We show that the admissible time for SQT decreases by increasing temperature, dissipation coefficient and average number of thermal photons, while for greater values of the squeezing parameter, SQT conditions are satisfied in a longer period of time.     

Quantum Brownian motion with large friction

Quantum Brownian motion in the strong friction limit is studied based on the exact path integral formulation of dissipative systems. In this limit the time-nonlocal reduced dynamics can be cast into an effective equation of motion, the quantum Smoluchowski equation. For strongly condensed phase environments it plays a similar role as master equations in the weak coupling range. Applications for chemical, mesoscopic, and soft matter systems are discussed and reveal the substantial role of quantum fluctuations.     

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.     

Decoherence of quantum Brownian motion in noncommutative space

The decoherence of a harmonic oscillator under two-dimensional quantum Brownian motion on a noncommutative plane is investigated. The interaction with the environment is considered by two separate models so-called coupled and uncoupled. The two-dimensional master equation and its noncommutative counterpart are derived for both employed models. The rate of the linear entropy (predictability sieve) is chosen as a criterion to investigate the purity in the presence of the space noncommutativity. Besides, a two-dimensional charged harmonic oscillator on a plane which is imposed by a perpendicular magnetic field is introduced as a realization of our model. Therefore, our approach provides a formalism to investigate the influence of the magnetic field on the decoherence of the pure states. We show that in the high magnetic field limit the rate of the decoherence will be decreased.     

Nonlinear relaxation and fluctuations of damped quantum systems

The paper reexamines the treatment of irreversible quantum systems by master equations. Shortcomings of the conventional theory of quantum Markov processes pointed out by Talkner are analyzed. It is shown that a frequently used quantum regression hypothesis is not correct, in general. A new generalized master equation determining the relaxation to equilibrium is derived by means of time-dependent projection operator techniques. It is shown that this master equation also determines the time evolution of equilibrium correlations and response functions. The Markovian approximation is discussed, and a new type of Markovian limit, the Brownian motion limit, is introduced besides the weak coupling limit. The shortcomings of the conventional approach are resolved by deriving new formulae for the time evolution of the correlation and response functions of a quantum Markov process. The symmetries of the process are emphasized, and it is shown how the fluctuation-dissipation theorem and the detailed balance symmetry emerge from the master equation approach.     

Quantum Brownian motion on potential surfaces coupled via tunneling in an external electric field[-2mm]

The present paper deals with the motion of a Brownian particle on two identical but shifted potential surfaces, coupled via a tunneling matrix element in an external electric field. Dissipation is induced by a heat bath represented by an infinite set of harmonic oscillators with a continuum range of frequencies. We derive a perturbative solution for the quantum coherence term of the particle system after performing a small-polaron-like transformation. This is subsequently necessary for the extraction of an equation that describes the reduced dynamics and the minimal action path of the Brownian particle. Finally we extract expressions for the population relaxation rate and the pure quantum-dephasing rate of the two-level system. Received 4 January 2001 and Received in final form 12 March 2001     

Brownian motion of a classical particle in quantum environment

The Klein–Kramers equation, governing the Brownian motion of a classical particle in a quantum environment under the action of an arbitrary external potential, is derived. Quantum temperature and friction operators are introduced and at large friction the corresponding Smoluchowski equation is obtained. Introducing the Bohm quantum potential, this Smoluchowski equation is extended to describe the Brownian motion of a quantum particle in quantum environment.     

Nonlinear Theory of Quantum Brownian Motion

A nonlinear theory of quantum Brownian motion in classical environment is developed based on a thermodynamically enhanced nonlinear Schrödinger equation. The latter is transformed via the Madelung transformation into a nonlinear quantum Smoluchowski-like equation, which is proven to reproduce key results from the quantum and classical physics. The application of the theory to a free quantum Brownian particle results in a nonlinear dependence of the position dispersion on time, being quantum generalization of the Einstein law of Brownian motion. It is shown that the time of decoherence from quantum to classical diffusion is proportional to the square of the thermal de Broglie wavelength divided by the classical Einstein diffusion constant.     

Squeezed states of light as self-similar structures

A new approach to investigating a broad class of dynamic states for a quantum oscillator is suggested. It is based on an invariant transformation of the equation to a new time determined by the quantum dispersion of the corresponding state. The squeezed states of a quantum system generated by the ground-state wave function are constructed. In coordinate representation, these states are described by a self-similar wave function localized near a classical trajectory. The statistics of the squeezed state of light is analyzed in the single-mode approximation. The parametric excitation of squeezed states for a quantum harmonic oscillator is considered.     

Infinitive Operator-Sum Representation for Damping in a Squeezed Heat Reservoir via the Thermo Entangled State Approach

Using the thermo entangled state approach, we successfully solve the master equation of a damped harmonic oscillator affected by a linear resonance force in a squeezed heat reservoir, and obtain the analytical evolution formula for the density operator in the infinitive Kraus operator-sum representation. Interestingly, the Kraus operators M_l,m,n,r and \(\mathfrak {M}_{l,m,n,r}^{\dag }\) are not Hermite conjugate, but they are still trace-preserving quantum operations because of the normalization condition. We also investigate the evolution for an initial coherent state for damping in a squeezed heat reservoir, which shows that the initial coherent state decays to a complex mixed state as a result of damping and thermal noise.     

Classical formulation of quantum mechanics

The concept of quantum state is given in terms of classical probability for position in squeezed and rotated classical reference frames in phase space. Stationary states and energy levels of the quantum system are obtained in a classical formulation of quantum mechanics. The positive probability density of the harmonic oscillator position is obtained by solving a new eigenvalue equation of standard quantum mechanics instead of the Schrödinger equation. The orthogonality and completeness relations are found for the eigendistributions.     

The performance characteristics of an irreversible quantum Otto harmonic refrigeration cycle

In this paper, an irreversible quantum Otto refrigeration cycle working with harmonic systems is established. Base on Heisenberg quantum master equation, the equations of motion for the set of harmonic systems thermodynamic observables are derived. The simulated diagrams of the quantum Otto refrigeration cycle are plotted. The relationship between average power of friction, cooling rate, power input, and the time of adiabatic process is analyzed by using numerical calculation. Moreover, the influence of the heat conductance and the time of iso-frequency process on the performance of the cycle is discussed.