We discuss recent findings about properties of quantum nonequilibrium steady states. In particular we focus on transport properties. It is shown that the time dependent density matrix renormalization method can be used successfully to find a stationary solution of Lindblad master equation. Furthermore, for a specific model an exact solution is presented.
We introduce a systematic approximation for an efficient evaluation of Born--Markov master equations for steady state transport studies in open quantum systems out of equilibrium: the energy resolved master equation approach. The master equation is formulated in the eigenbasis of the open quantum system and build successively by including eigenstates with increasing grandcanonical energies. In order to quantify convergence of the approximate scheme we introduce quality factors to check preservation of trace, positivity and hermiticity. Furthermore, we discuss different types of master equation…
This paper presents a comprehensive review of the wave-function approach for derivation of the number-resolved Master equations, used for description of transport and measurement in mesoscopic systems. The review contains important amendments, clarifying subtle points in derivation of the Master equations and their validity. This completes the earlier works on the subject. It is demonstrated that the derivation does not assume weak coupling with the environment and reservoirs, but needs only high bias condition. This condition is very essential for validity of the Markovian Master equations, w…
In addition to the well-known Landauer-Buttiker scattering theory and the nonequilibrium Green's function technique for mesoscopic transports, an alternative (and very useful) scheme is quantum master equation approach. In this article, we review the particle-number (n)-resolved master equation (n-ME) approach and its systematic applications in quantum measurement and quantum transport problems. The n-ME contains rich dynamical information, allowing efficient study of topics such as shot noise and full counting statistics analysis. Moreover, we also review a newly developed master equation app…
Heat transport in driven quantum systems: Comparison between the Floquet-Redfield equation and the master equation in the instantaneous eigenbasis
Aalto University School of Science（阿尔托大学科学学院）；Chalmers University of Technology（查尔姆斯理工大学）；Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago（芝加哥大学普里茨克分子工程学院）
We report on the derivation of the heat transport equation for nonmetals using a quantum Markovian master equation in Lindblad form. We first establish the equations of motion describing the time variation of the on-site energy of atoms in a one dimensional periodic chain that is coupled to a heat reservoir. In the continuum limit, the Fourier law of heat conduction naturally emerges, and the heat conductivity is explicitly obtained. It is found that the effect of the heat reservoir on the lattice is described by a heat source density that depends on the diffusion coefficients of the atoms. We…
Floquet non-equilibrium Green's function and Floquet quantum master equation for electronic transport: The role of electron-electron interactions and spin current with circular light
Evaluating the time-dependent dynamics of driven open quantum systems is relevant for a theoretical description of many systems, including molecular junctions, quantum dots, cavity-QED experiments, cold atoms experiments and more. Here, we formulate a rigorous microscopic theory of an out-of-equilibrium open quantum system of non-interacting particles on a lattice weakly coupled to multiple baths and driven by periodically varying thermodynamic parameters like temperature and chemical potential of the bath. The particles can be either bosonic or fermionic and the lattice can be of any dimensio…
In this paper we work out a parameterization of the environment noise within the Haken-Strobl-Reinenker (HSR) model for the PE545 light-harvesting complex based on atomic-level quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) simulations. We use this approach to investigate the role of different auto- and cross-correlations in the HSR noise tensor, confirming that site-energy autocorrelations (pure dephasing) terms dominate the noise-induced exciton mobility enhancement, followed by site energy-coupling cross-correlations for specific triplets of pigments. Interestingly, several cross-correlation…
We introduce a simple model for the quantum transport of Fermi particles between two contacts connected by a lead. It generalizes the Landauer formalizm by explicitly taken into account the relaxation processes in the contacts. We calculate the contact resistance and non-equilibrium quasi-momentum distribution of the carriers in the lead and show that they strongly depend on the rate of relaxation processes.
The study of open quantum systems often relies on approximate master equations derived under the assumptions of weak coupling to the environment. However when the system is made of several interacting subsystems such a derivation is in many cases very hard. An alternative method, employed especially in the modelling of transport in mesoscopic systems, consists in using {\it local} master equations containing Lindblad operators acting locally only on the corresponding subsystem. It has been shown that this approach however generates inconsistencies with the laws of thermodynamics. In this paper…
We investigate the thermodynamic consistency of the master equation description of heat transport through an optomechanical system attached to two heat baths, one optical and one mechanical. We employ three different master equations to describe this scenario: (i) The standard master equation used in optomechanics, where each bath acts only on the resonator that it is physically connected to; (ii) the so-called dressed-state master equation, where the mechanical bath acts on the global system; and (iii) what we call the global master equation, where both baths are treated non-locally and affec…
The Caldeira-Leggett master equation as an example of Markovian master equation without Lindblad form is investigated for mathematical consistency. We explore situations both analytically and numerically where the positivity violations of the density operator occur. We reinforce some known knowledge about this problem but also find new surprising cases. Our analytical results are based on the full solution of the Caldeira-Leggett master equation obtained via the method of characteristics. The preservation of positivity is mainly investigated with the help of the density operator's purity and w…
Quantum effects such as the environment assisted quantum transport (ENAQT) displayed in photosynthetic Fenna-Mathews-Olson (FMO) complex has been simulated on analog quantum simulators. Digital quantum simulations offer greater universality and flexibility over analog simulations. However, digital quantum simulations of open quantum systems face a theoretical challenge; one does not know the solutions of the continuous time master equation for developing quantum gate operators. We give a theoretical framework for digital quantum simulation of ENAQT by introducing new quantum evolution operator…
In this paper, we apply the polaron master equation, which offers the possibilities to interpolate between weak and strong system-bath coupling, to study how system-bath couplings affect charge transfer processes in Photosystem II reaction center (PSII RC) inspired quantum heat engine (QHE) model in a wide parameter range. The effects of bath correlation and temperature, together with the combined effects of these factors are also discussed in details. The results show a variety of dynamical behaviours. We interpret these results in terms of noise-assisted transport effect and dynamical locali…
Based on a Liouville-space formulation of open systems, we present two methods to solve the quantum dynamics of coupled harmonic oscillators experiencing Markovian loss. Starting point is the quantum master equation in Liouville space which is generated by a Liouvillian that induces a Lie algebra. We show how this Lie algebra allows to define ladder operators that construct Fock-like eigenstates of the Liouvillian. These eigenstates are used to decompose the time-evolved density matrix and, together with the accompanying eigenvalues, provide insight into the transport properties of the lossy s…
Data of the numerical solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation of a system containing one spin-1/2 particle interacting with a bath of up to 32 spin-1/2 particles is used to construct a Markovian quantum master equation describing the dynamics of the system spin. The procedure of obtaining this quantum master equation, which takes the form of a Bloch equation with time-independent coefficients, accounts for all non-Markovian effects in as much the general structure of the quantum master equation allows. Our simulation results show that, with a few rather exotic exceptions, the Bloch…
We analyze the propagation of quantum states in the presence of weak disorder. In particular, we investigate the reliable transmittance of quantum states, as potential carriers of quantum information, through disorder-perturbed waveguides. We quantify wave-packet distortion, backscattering, and disorder-induced dephasing, which all act detrimentally on transport, and identify conditions for reliable transmission. Our analysis relies on the treatment of the nonequilibrium dynamics of ensemble-averaged quantum states in terms of quantum master equations.
Ongoing experimental activity aims at calorimetric measurements of thermodynamic indicators of quantum integrated systems. We study a model of a driven qubit in contact with a finite-size thermal electron reservoir. The temperature of the reservoir changes due to energy exchanges with the qubit and an infinite-size phonon bath. Under the assumption of weak coupling and weak driving, we model the evolution of the qubit-electron-temperature as a hybrid master equation for the density matrix of the qubit at different temperatures of the calorimeter. We compare the temperature evolution with an ea…
Solution of free particle quantum master equation with spatial decoherence can be unravelled into stochastic quantum trajectories in many ways. The first example, published in 1985, proposed a piecewise deterministic jump process for the wave function. While alternative unravellings, diffusive ones in particular, proved to be tractable analytically, the jump process 1985, also called orthojump, allows for few analytic results, it needs numeric methods as well. Here we prove that, similarly to diffusive unravellings, it is localizing the quantum state.
In this work, dissipative effects from a phonon bath on the resonance fluorescence of a solid state two level system embedded in a high quality semiconductor microcavity and driven by an intense laser, are investigated. Within the density operator formalism, we derive a variational master equation valid for broader ranges of temperatures, pumping rates, and radiation-matter couplings, than previous studies. From the obtained master equation, fluorescence spectra for various thermal and exciting conditions are numerically calculated, and compared to those computed from weak coupling and polaron…
