We investigate the steady state properties arising from the open system dynamics described by a memoryless (Markovian) quantum collision model, corresponding to a master equation in the ultra-strong coupling regime. By carefully assessing the work cost of switching on and off the system-environment interaction, we show that only a coupling Hamiltonian in the energy-preserving form drives the system to thermal equilibrium, while any other interaction leads to non-equilibrium steady states that are supported by steady-state currents. These currents provide a neat exemplification of the housekeeping work and heat. Furthermore, we characterize the specific form of system-environment interaction that drives the system to a steady-state exhibiting coherence in the energy eigenbasis, thus, giving rise to families of states that are non-passive.
We have investigated the dynamics of quantum discord and entanglement for two qubits subject to independent global transverse and/or longitudinal memoryless noisy classical fields. Global transverse and/or longitudinal random fields are found to drive the system to maximally discordant mixed separable steady states for suitable initial conditions. Moreover, two independent noises in the system are found to enhance both the steady state randomness and quantum discord in the absence of entanglement for some initial states.
Time-dependent density matrix renormalization group method with a matrix product ansatz is employed for explicit computation of non-equilibrium steady state density operators of several integrable and non-integrable quantum spin chains, which are driven far from equilibrium by means of Markovian couplings to external baths at the two ends. It is argued that even though the time-evolution can not be simulated efficiently due to fast entanglement growth, the steady states in and out of equilibrium can be typically accurately approximated, so that chains of length of the order n ~ 100 are accessi…
Using quantization in the Fock space of operators we compute the non-equilibrium steady state in an open Heisenberg XY spin 1/2 chain of finite but large size coupled to Markovian baths at its ends. Numerical and theoretical evidence is given for a far from equilibrium quantum phase transition with spontaneous emergence of long-range order in spin-spin correlation functions, characterized by a transition from saturation to linear growth with the size of the entanglement entropy in operator space.
We address the problem of analyzing the radius of convergence of perturbative expansion of non-equilibrium steady states of Lindblad driven spin chains. A simple formal approach is developed for systematically computing the perturbative expansion of small driven systems. We consider the paradigmatic model of an open $XXZ$ spin 1/2 chain with boundary supported ultralocal Lindblad dissipators and treat two different perturbative cases: (i) expansion in system-bath coupling parameter and (ii) expansion in driving (bias) parameter. In the first case (i) we find that the radius of convergence quic…
We study the steady state of a three-level system in contact with a non-equilibrium environment, which is composed of two independent heat baths at different temperatures. We derive a master equation to describe the non-equilibrium process of the system. For the three level systems with two dipole transitions, i.e., the $Λ$-type and V-type, we find that the interferences of two transitions in a non-equilibrium environment can give rise to non-vanishing steady quantum coherence, namely, there exist non-zero off-diagonal terms in the steady state density matrix (in the energy representation). Mo…
We develop an exact quantum thermodynamic description for a noninteracting nanoscale steady state that couples strongly with multiple reservoirs. It is demonstrated that there exists a steady-state extension of the thermodynamic function that correctly accounts for the multiterminal Landauer-Büttiker formula of quantum transport of charge, energy or heat, via the nonequilibrium thermodynamic relations. Its explicit form is obtained for a single bosonic or fermionic level in the wide-band limit, and corresponding thermodynamic forces (affinities) are identified. Nonlinear generalization of the …
We study two two-level atomic quantum systems (qubits) placed close to a body held at a temperature different from that of the surrounding walls. While at thermal equilibrium the two-qubit dynamics is characterized by not entangled steady thermal states, we show that absence of thermal equilibrium may bring to the generation of entangled steady states. Remarkably, this entanglement emerges from the two-qubit dissipative dynamic itself, without any further external action on the two qubits, suggesting a new protocol to produce and protect entanglement which is intrinsically robust to environmen…
A system of two coupled oscillators, each of them coupled to an independent reservoir, is analysed. The analytical solution of the non-rotating wave master equation is obtained in the high-temperature and weak coupling limits. No thermal entanglement is found in the high-temperature limit. In the weak coupling limit the system converges to an entangled non-equilibrium steady state. A critical temperature for the appearance of quantum correlations is found.
Periodically driven dynamics of open quantum systems is very interesting because typically non-equilibrium steady state is reached, which is characterized by a non-vanishing current. In this work, we study time discrete and periodically driven dynamics experimentally for a single photon that its coupled to its environment. We develop a comprehensive theory which explains the experimental observations and offers an analytical characterization of the non-equilibrium steady states of the system. We demonstrate that the periodic driving and the properties of the environment can be engineered in su…
We extend the notion of the Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis (ETH) to Open Quantum Systems governed by the Gorini-Kossakowski-Lindblad-Sudarshan (GKLS) Master Equation. We present evidence that the eigenstates of non-equilibrium steady state (NESS) density matrices obey a generalization of ETH in boundary-driven systems when the bulk Hamiltonian is non-integrable, just as eigenstates of Gibbs density matrices are conjectured to do in equilibrium. This generalized ETH, which we call NESS-ETH, can be used to obtain representative pure states that reproduce the expectation values of few-body …
We study the steady state of two coupled two-level atoms interacting with a non-equilibrium environment that consists of two heat baths at different temperatures. Specifically, we analyze four cases with respect to the configuration about the interactions between atoms and heat baths. Using secular approximation, the conventional master equation usually neglects steady-state coherence, even when the system is coupled with a non-equilibrium environment. When employing the master equation with no secular approximation, we find that the system coherence in our model, denoted by the off-diagonal t…
We present a numerical method to simulate non-equilibrium Floquet steady states of one-dimensional periodically-driven (Floquet) many-body systems coupled to a dissipative bath, called open-system Floquet DMRG (OFDMRG). This method is based on a matrix product operator ansatz for the Floquet density matrix in frequency-space, and enables access to large systems beyond the reach of exact master-equation or quantum trajectory simulations, while retaining information about the periodic micro-motion in Floquet steady states. An excited-state extension of this technique also allows computation of t…
The non-equilibrium-steady state (NEST) for photons in a cavity is investigated theoretically. The NEST is caused by different parts of the cavity being at distinct temperatures or by temperature gradients. By using a rate equation based on the Lindblad equation, we derive an analytic expression for the steady-state distribution of the photon spectrum. We predict differences between the non-equilibrium steady state and a fit to the black-body spectrum calculated via Planck's law with an effective temperature. For two bodies of similar size at two temperatures which differ by a factor of two, t…
We will review some known exact solutions for the steady state of the open quantum Heisenberg $XXZ$ spin chain coupled to a pair of baths [Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 137201 (2011).]. The dynamics is modelled by the Lindblad master equation. We also review how to calculate some relevant physical observables and provide the statistics of spin current assuming the spin chain is weakly coupled to the baths [Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 067201 (2014).].
This Article investigates dissipative preparation of entangled non-equilibrium steady states (NESS). We construct a collision model where the open system consists of two qubits which are coupled to heat reservoirs with different temperatures. The baths are modeled by sequences of qubits interacting with the open system. The model can be studied in different dynamical regimes: with and without environmental memory effects. We report that only a certain bath temperature range allows for entangled NESS. Furthermore, we obtain minimal and maximal critical values for the heat current through the sy…
Thermodynamic Networks: Harnessing Non-Equilibrium Steady States for Computation
Polish Academy of Sciences（波兰科学院）；Jagiellonian University（雅盖隆大学）；University of Geneva（日内瓦大学）；Instituto de Física Interdisciplinar y Sistemas Complejos IFISC (CSIC-UIB)（复杂系统与交叉物理研究所（西班牙国家研究委员会-巴利阿里群岛大学））；Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona（巴塞罗那自治大学）
We study an ensemble of two-level quantum systems (qubits) interacting with a common electromagnetic field in proximity of a dielectric slab whose temperature is held different from that of some far surrounding walls. We show that the dissipative dynamics of the qubits driven by this stationary and out of thermal equilibrium (OTE) field, allows the production of steady many-body entangled states, differently from the case at thermal equilibrium where steady states are always non-entangled. By studying up to ten qubits, we point out the role of symmetry in the entanglement production, which is …
We investigate analytically and numerically the steady-state entanglement and coherence of two coupled qubits each interacting with a local boson or fermion reservoir, based on the Bloch-Redfield master equation beyond the secular approximation. We find that there is non-vanishing steady-state coherence in the nonequilibrium scenario, which grows monotonically with the nonequilibrium condition quantified by the temperature difference or chemical potential difference of the two baths. The steady-state entanglement in general is a non-monotonic function of the nonequilibrium condition as well as…
We propose a quantum-classical hybrid algorithm to simulate the non-equilibrium steady state of an open quantum many-body system, named the dissipative-system Variational Quantum Eigensolver (dVQE). To employ the variational optimization technique for a unitary quantum circuit, we map a mixed state into a pure state with a doubled number of qubits and design the unitary quantum circuit to fulfill the requirements for a density matrix. This allows us to define a cost function that consists of the time evolution generator of the quantum master equation. Evaluation of physical observables is, in …
We determine and study the steady state of two independent two-level systems weakly coupled to a stationary non-equilibrium environment. Whereas this bipartite state is necessarily uncorrelated if the splitting energies of the two-level systems are different from each other, it can be entangled if they are equal. For identical two-level systems interacting with two bosonic heat baths at different temperatures, we discuss the influence of the baths temperatures and coupling parameters on their entanglement. Geometric properties, such as the baths dimensionalities and the distance between the tw…
We experimentally study a driven-dissipative Josephson junction array, realized with a weakly interacting Bose Einstein condensate residing in a one-dimensional optical lattice. Engineered losses on one site act as a local dissipative process, while tunneling from the neighboring sites constitutes the driving force. We characterize the emerging steady-states of this atomtronic device. With increasing dissipation strength $γ$ the system crosses from a superfluid state, characterized by a coherent Josephson current into the lossy site to a resistive state, characterized by an incoherent hopping …
We study the out-of-equilibrium dynamics of the quantum cellular automaton Rule 54 using a time-channel approach. We exhibit a family of (non-equilibrium) product states for which we are able to describe exactly the full relaxation dynamics. We use this to prove that finite subsystems relax to a one-parameter family of Gibbs states. We also consider inhomogeneous quenches. Specifically, we show that when the two halves of the system are prepared in two different solvable states, finite subsystems at finite distance from the centre eventually relax to the non-equilibrium steady state (NESS) pre…
Aiming at studying the emergence of Non-Equilibrium Steady States (NESS) in quantum integrable models by means of an exact analytical method, we focus on the Tonks-Girardeau or hard-core boson limit of the Lieb-Liniger model. We consider the abrupt expansion of a gas from one half to the entire confining box, a prototypical case of inhomogeneous quench, also known as "geometric quench". Based on the exact calculation of quench overlaps, we develop an analytical method for the derivation of the NESS by rigorously treating the thermodynamic and large time and distance limit. Our method is based …
We study the out of equilibrium steady state properties of the Bose-Fermi-Kondo model, describing a local magnetic moment coupled to two ferromagnetic leads that support bosonic (magnons) and fermionic (Stoner continuum electrons) low energy excitations. This model describes the destruction of the Kondo effect as the coupling to the bosons is increased. Its phase diagram comprises three non-trivial fixed points. Using a dynamical large-$N$approach on the Keldysh contour, we study two different non-equilibrium setups: (a) a finite bias voltage and (b) a finite temperature gradient, imposed acro…
A resistor-network picture of transitions is appropriate for the study of energy absorption by weakly chaotic or weakly interacting driven systems. Such "sparse" systems reach a novel non-equilibrium steady state (NESS) once coupled to a bath. In the stochastic case there is an analogy to the physics of percolating glassy systems, and an extension of the fluctuation-dissipation phenomenology is proposed. In the mesoscopic case the quantum NESS might differ enormously from the stochastic NESS, with saturation temperature determined by the sparsity. A toy model where the sparsity of the system i…
In this paper we address the question how the Kibble-Zurek mechanism, which describes the formation of topological defects in quantum systems subjected to a quench across a critical point, is generalized to the same scenario but for driven-dissipative quantum critical systems. In these out of equilibrium systems, the critical behavior is manifested in the steady states rather than in the ground states as in quantum critical models of closed systems. To give the generalization we need to establish what is meant by adiabaticity in open quantum systems. Another most crucial concept that we clarif…
We consider parameter estimations with probes being the boundary driven/dissipated non- equilibrium steady states of XXZ spin 1/2 chains. The parameters to be estimated are the dissipation coupling and the anisotropy of the spin-spin interaction. In the weak coupling regime we compute the scaling of the Fisher information, i.e. the inverse best sensitivity among all estimators, with the number of spins. We find superlinear scalings and transitions between the distinct, isotropic and anisotropic, phases. We also look at the best relative error which decreases with the number of particles faster…
We study non-equilibrium steady states (NESS) of spin chains with boundary Markovian dissipation from the computational complexity point of view. We focus on XX chains whose NESS are matrix product operators (MPO), i.e. with coefficients of a tensor operator basis described by transition amplitudes in an auxiliary space. Encoding quantum algorithms in the auxiliary space, we show that estimating expectations of operators, being local in the sense that each acts on disjoint sets of few spins covering all the system, provides the answers of problems at least as hard as, and believed by many comp…
The current-carrying steady-state that arises in the middle of a metallic wire connected to macroscopic leads is characterized regarding its response functions, correlations and entanglement entropy. The spectral function and the dynamical structure factor show clear non-equilibrium signatures accessible by state-of-the-art techniques. In contrast with the equilibrium case, the entanglement entropy is extensive with logarithmic corrections at zero-temperature that depend on the wire-leads coupling and, in a non-analytic way, on voltage. This shows that some robust universal quantities found in…
We investigate the effect of a non-Markovian, structured reservoir on an open Heisenberg spin chain. We establish a coherent self-feedback mechanism as the reservoir couples frequency-dependent to the spin chain. Thus, loss and driving take place due to the interaction of the spin chain with its own past. This new paradigm of non-Markovian imposed boundary-driving allows to discuss a new kind of non-equilibrium steady-state. We show that for certain parameters even in the long-time limit persistent oscillations occur within the chain. Moreover, we demonstrate that the conditions for these osci…
We study the problem of calculating transport properties of interacting quantum systems, specifically electrical and thermal conductivities, by computing the non-equilibrium steady state (NESS) of the system biased by contacts. Our approach is based on the structure of entanglement in the NESS. With reasonable physical assumptions, we show that a NESS close to local equilibrium is lightly entangled and can be represented via a computationally efficient tensor network. We further argue that the NESS may be found by dynamically evolving the system within a manifold of appropriate low entanglemen…
