Master equation of the reduced statistical operator of an atom in a plasma |
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Authors: | C Gocke G Röpke |
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Institution: | (1) University of Rostock, FB Physik, Rostock, Germany |
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Abstract: | We use the nonequilibrium Liouville equation to derive the master equation for the reduced statistical operator in a heat
bath represented by a many-particle environment. Focusing on the case of a weak system-bath coupling, we consider the Born-Markov
approximation of the master equation and compare the result to different approaches. The master equation is elaborated for
the special case of an atom as a reduced system in a plasma background. We find that the dynamical structure factor determines
the effect of the plasma on the reduced system. We consider the operator equation in the atomic eigenstate and in the phase-space
representation, which yields two limiting cases: quantum mechanical behavior similar to the isolated atom for the lower strongly
bound levels and a semiclassical one for highly excited Rydberg levels.
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Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Matematicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 154, No. 1, pp. 31–62, January, 2008. |
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Keywords: | nonequilibrium statistical operator reduced statistical operator quantum master equation quantum Brownian motion open quantum system decoherence Rydberg atom ultracold plasma |
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