In 1976, Gorini, Kossakowski, Sudarshan and Lindblad independently discovered a general form of master equations for an open quantum Markovian dynamics. In honor of all the authors, the equation is nowadays called the GKLS master equation. In this paper, we show universal constraints on the relaxation times valid for any d-level GKLS master equations, which is a generalization of the well-known constraints for 2-level systems. Specifically, we show that any relaxation rate, the inverse-relaxation time, is not greater than half of the sum of all relaxation rates. Since the relaxation times are measurable in experiments, our constraints provide a direct experimental test for the validity of the GKLS master equations, and hence for the conditions of the complete positivity and Markovianity.
Fifty Years of the GKLS Master Equation: Foundations and Early Developments
University of Trieste（的里雅斯特大学）；Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Trieste（意大利国家核物理研究所的里雅斯特分部）；Institute of Physics, Nicolaus Copernicus University（尼古拉·哥白尼大学物理研究所）；Department of Physics, University of Bari（巴里大学物理系）；Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Bari（意大利国家核物理研究所巴里分部）
The celebrated GKLS master equation, widely called just Lindblad equation, is the universal dynamical equation of non-relativistic open quantum systems in their Markovian approximation. It is not necessary and perhaps impossible that GKLS equations possess sensible relativistic forms. In a lucid talk on black hole information loss paradox, David Poulin conjectured a Lorentz invariant GKLS master equation. It remained unpublished. Poulin passed away at heights of his activity. But the equation is really puzzling. A closer look uncovers a smartly hidden defect which leaves us without Lorentz inv…
We define a time continuous version of the concept of "local operations and classical communication" (LOCC), ubiquitous in quantum information theory. It allows us to construct GKLS master equations for particle systems that have (1) an arbitrary pair potential, and (2) local decoherence terms, but that do not entangle the constituents. The local decoherence terms take a particularly simple form if a principle of least decoherence is applied.
We consider the reduced dynamics of a small quantum system in interaction with a reservoir when the initial state is factorized. We present a rigorous derivation of a GKLS master equation in the weak-coupling limit for a generic bath, which is not assumed to have a bosonic or fermionic nature, and whose reference state is not necessarily thermal. The crucial assumption is a reservoir state endowed with a mixing property: the n-point connected correlation function of the interaction must be asymptotically bounded by the product of two-point functions (clustering property).
When deriving a master equation for a multipartite weakly-interacting open quantum systems, dissipation is often addressed \textit{locally} on each component, i.e. ignoring the coherent couplings, which are later added `by hand'. Although simple, the resulting local master equation (LME) is known to be thermodynamically inconsistent. Otherwise, one may always obtain a consistent \textit{global} master equation (GME) by working on the energy basis of the full interacting Hamiltonian. Here, we consider a two-node `quantum wire' connected to two heat baths. The stationary solution of the LME and …
We present a derivation of the Markovian master equation by the renormalization group method. Starting from a naive perturbative solution of the von Neumann equation, the reduced density matrix with the coarse grained time steps is obtained using the assumption of short correlation time of the bath field. Then by applying the renormalization group method, we show that the dependence of the specific initial time on the perturbative solution can be removed and the Markovian semigroup master equation in the Gorini--Kossakowski--Lindblad--Sudarshan (GKLS) form is obtained in the weak coupling limi…
Asymptotic relaxation in quantum Markovian dynamics
Universität Ulm（乌尔姆大学）；Center for Integrated Quantum Science and Technology (IQST), Ulm University（乌尔姆大学集成量子科学与技术中心）；Nicolaus Copernicus University（尼古拉·哥白尼大学）
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 discuss a model of a closed quantum evolution of two-qubits where the joint Hamiltonian is so chosen that one of the qubits acts as a bath and thermalize the other qubit which is acting as the system. The corresponding exact master equation for the system is derived. Interestingly, for a specific choice of parameters the master equation takes the Gorini-Kossakowski-Lindblad-Sudarshan (GKLS) form with constant coefficients, representing pumping and damping of a single qubit system. Based on this model we construct an Otto cycle connected to a single qubit bath and study its thermodynamic pro…
We discuss a restriction on relaxation times derived from the Lindblad-type master equations for 2-level systems and show that none of the inverse relaxation times can be greater than the sum of the others. The relation is experimentally proved or disproved and can be considered to be a measure for or against the applicability of the Lindblad-type master equations and therefore of the so-called completely positive condition.
We perform a first- principles derivation of the general master equation to study the non-Markovian dynamics of a two-level atom (2LA) interacting with an electromagnetic field (EMF). We use the influence functional method which can incorporate the full backreaction of the field on the atom, while adopting Grassmannian variables for the 2LA and the coherent state representation for the EMF. We find exact master equations for the cases of a free quantum field and a cavity field in the vacuum. In response to the search for mechanisms to preserve maximal coherence in quantum computations in ion t…
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 equatio…
The paper discusses the master equation approach to derivation of the Esaki-Tsu equation for drift current. It is shown that the relaxation term in the master equation can be identified by measuring the velocity distribution of the carriers. We also show that the standard form of the relaxation term, used earlier to derive Esaki-Tsu equation, predicts unphysical velocity distribution and suggest a more elaborated relaxation term, which is argued to correctly capture the effect of bosonic bath in experiments on atomic current in optical lattices.
We present a succinct and intuitive derivation of a formally exact master equation for general open quantum systems, without the use of an "inverse" map which was invoked in previous works on formally exact master equations. This formalism is applicable to non-Markovian regimes. We derive a second-order equation of motion for the illustrative spin-boson model at arbitrary temperatures, observing non-exponential decoherence and relaxation. Limiting our generic derivation to zero temperature, we also reproduce the result for the special case of a vacuum bath in Phys. Rev. A 81, 042103 (2010).
We propose a new representation for several quantum master equations in so-called quasithermodynamic form. This representation (when it exists) let one to write down dynamical equations both for diagonal and non-diagonal elements of density matrix of the quantum system of interest in unified form by means of nonequilibrium potential ("entropy") that is a certain quadratic function depending on all variables describing the state. We prove that above representation exists for the general Pauli master equation and for the Lindblad master equation ( at least in simple cases ) as well. We discuss a…
In this work we first derive a generalized conditional master equation for quantum measurement by a mesoscopic detector, then study the readout characteristics of qubit measurement where a number of new features are found. The work would in particular highlight the qubit spontaneous relaxation effect induced by the measurement itself rather than an external thermal bath.
We present results of simulations of a em quantum Boltzmann master equation (QBME) describing the kinetics of a dilute Bose gas confined in a trapping potential in the regime of Bose condensation. The QBME is the simplest version of a quantum kinetic master equations derived in previous work. We consider two cases of trapping potentials: a 3D square well potential with periodic boundary conditions, and an isotropic harmonic oscillator. We discuss the stationary solutions and relaxation to equilibrium. In particular, we calculate particle distribution functions, fluctuations in the occupation n…
There has been a recent upsurge of interest in the quantum properties of magnons for quantum information processing. An important issue is to examine the stability of quantum states of magnons against various relaxation and dephasing channels. Since the interaction of magnons in magnetic systems may fall in the ultra-strong and even deep-strong coupling regimes, the relaxation process of magnon states is quite different from the more common quantum optical systems. Here we study the relaxation and dephasing of magnons based on the Lindblad formalism and derive a generalized master equation tha…
Cavity and circuit QED study light-matter interaction at its most fundamental level. Yet, this interaction is most often neglected when considering the coupling of this system with an environment. In this paper, we show how this simplification, which leads to the standard quantum optics master equation, is at the root of unphysical effects. Including qubit relaxation and dephasing, and cavity relaxation, we derive a master equation that takes into account the qubit-resonator coupling. Special attention is given to the ultrastrong coupling regime, where the failure of the quantum optical master…
We solve the Schroedinger equation for an interacting spin-chain locally coupled to a quantum environment with a specific degeneracy structure. The reduced dynamics of the whole spin-chain as well as of single spins is analyzed. We show, that the total spin-chain relaxes to a thermal equilibrium state independently of the internal interaction strength. In contrast, the asymptotic states of each individual spin are thermal for weak but non-thermal for stronger spin-spin coupling. The transition between both scenarios is found for couplings of the order of $0.1 \times ΔE$, with $ΔE$ denoting the…
It is shown in this paper that the quantum master equation can be mapped to a modified continuous time random walk (CTRW) if the relaxation term is composed of transitions over a set of states. When the Hamiltonian is time-independent and transitions are between its eigenlevels, such a modified CTRW reduces to the Markovian walk equivalent to the Pauli master equation. On the other hand, the memory in such a modified CTRW is composed of a temporal factor and the probability determined by the Liouville flow when the relaxation term is reduced as a special dephasing term.
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.
A Mean-Field Lindblad Master Equation Framework for Interaction-Driven Decoherence in Solid-State Qubit Ensembles
Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado Boulder（科罗拉多大学博尔德分校化学系）；Ann and H.J. Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder（科罗拉多大学博尔德分校安恩和H.J.斯米德航空航天工程科学）
We present a general master equation, correct to second order in the system-environment coupling strength, that takes into account the initial system-environment correlations. We assume that the system and its environment are in a joint thermal equilibrium state, and thereafter a unitary operation is performed to prepare the desired initial system state, with the system Hamiltonian possibly changing thereafter as well. We show that the effect of the initial correlations shows up in the second-order master equation as an additional term, similar in form to the usual second-order term describing…
We have found missing terms and incorrect signs in the secular master equations reported by Del Pino et. al., New J. Phys., 17 (2015), 053040 for vibrational polariton relaxation. Inclusion of these terms and signs are essential to yield correct (vanishing) pure dephasing rates between polariton states, as well as coherence transfer pathways between polaritons and dark states. We provide corrected expressions for the master equations as well as comparisons with the results reported by the authors. Even though the main conclusions of the article are not significantly altered, the corrections ar…
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 Schrödinger equation called 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 q…
It is shown that by fitting a Markovian quantum master equation to the numerical solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation of a system of two spin-1/2 particles interacting with a bath of up to 34 spin-1/2 particles, the former can describe the dynamics of the two-spin system rather well. The fitting procedure that yields this Markovian quantum master equation accounts for all non-Markovian effects in as much the general structure of this equation allows and yields a description that is incompatible with the Lindblad equation.
A comparison of different master equations for driven-dissipative dynamics in composite quantum systems: Dispersive readout in structured electromagnetic environments
Sorbonne Université（索邦大学）；Institut des NanoSciences de Paris（巴黎纳米科学研究所）；LPENS, Département de Physique, École Normale Supérieure, Centre Automatique et Systèmes (CAS), MINES ParisTech, Université PSL, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Inria（物理与能源环境研究实验室，巴黎高等师范学院，自动系统与中央研究院，国立巴黎高等矿业学校，巴黎文理研究大学，索邦大学，法国国家科学研究中心，法国国家信息与自动化研究所）；CNRS（法国国家科学研究中心）
We present a derivation of the Redfield formalism for treating the dissipative dynamics of a time-dependent quantum system coupled to a classical environment. We compare such a formalism with the master equation approach where the environments are treated quantum mechanically. Focusing on a time-dependent spin-1/2 system we demonstrate the equivalence between both approaches by showing that they lead to the same Bloch equations and, as a consequence, to the same characteristic times $T_{1}$ and $T_{2}$ (associated with the longitudinal and transverse relaxations, respectively). These character…
We implement continued-fraction techniques to solve exactly quantum master equations for a spin with arbitrary S coupled to a (bosonic) thermal bath. The full spin density matrix is obtained, so that along with relaxation and thermoactivation, coherent dynamics is included (precession, tunnel, etc.). The method is applied to study isotropic spins and spins in a bistable anisotropy potential (superparamagnets). We present examples of static response, the dynamical susceptibility including the contribution of the different relaxation modes, and of spin resonance in transverse fields.
In the framework of theory of open quantum systems, we derive quantum master equations for the ultrastrong system-bath coupling regime and, more generally, the strong-decoherence regime. In this regime, the strong decoherence is complemented by slow relaxation processes. We use a generalization of the Foerster and modified Redfield peturbation theories known in theory of excitation energy transfer. Also, we show that the mean force Gibbs state in the corresponding limits are stationary for the derived master equations.
In this paper we analyze the double Caldeira-Leggett model: the path integral approach to two interacting dissipative harmonic oscillators. Assuming a general form of the interaction between the oscillators, we consider two different situations: i) when each oscillator is coupled to its own reservoir, and ii) when both oscillators are coupled to a common reservoir. After deriving and solving the master equation for each case, we analyze the decoherence process of particular entanglements in the positional space of both oscillators. To analyze the decoherence mechanism we have derived a general…
Expansion of time-convolutionless non-Markovian quantum master equations: A case study using the Fano-Anderson model
Institute of Physics, University of Freiburg（弗赖堡大学物理研究所）；EUCOR Centre for Quantum Science and Quantum Computing, University of Freiburg（弗赖堡大学EUCOR量子科学与量子计算中心）
We develop a "chain-boson model" master equation, within the Born-Markov approximation, for a few superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) coupled into a chain and exchanging their angular momenta with a low temperature phonon bath. Our master equation has four generators; we concentrate on the damping and diffusion and use them to study the relaxation and decoherence of a Heisenberg SQUID chain whose spectrum exhibits critical point energy-level crossings, entangled states, and pairs of resonant transitions. We note that at an energy-level crossing the relevant bath wavelengths a…
Recent experiments in superconducting qubit systems have shown an unexpectedly strong dependence of the qubit relaxation rate on the readout drive power. This phenomenon limits the maximum measurement strength and thus the achievable readout speed and fidelity. We address this problem here and provide a plausible mechanism for drive-power dependence of relaxation rates. To this end we introduce a two-parameter perturbative expansion in qubit anharmonicity and the drive amplitude through a unitary transformation technique introduced in Part I. This approach naturally reveals number non-conservi…
A quantum master equation is obtained for identical fermions by including a relaxation term in addition to the mean-field Hamiltonian. [Huang C F and Huang K N 2004 Chinese J. Phys. ${\bf 42}$ 221; Gebauer R and Car R 2004 Phys. Rev. B ${\bf 70}$ 125324] It is proven in this paper that both the positivity and Pauli's exclusion principle are preserved under this equation when there exists an upper bound for the transition rate. Such an equation can be generalized to model BCS-type quasiparticles, and is reduced to a Markoff master equation of Lindblad form in the low-density limit with respect …
We deduce a class of non-Markovian completely positive master equations which describe a system in a composite bipartite environment, consisting of a Markovian reservoir and additional stationary unobserved degrees of freedom that modulate the dissipative coupling. The entanglement-induced memory effects can persist for arbitrary long times and affect the relaxation to equilibrium, as well as induce corrections to the quantum-regression theorem. By considering the extra degrees of freedom as a discrete manifold of energy levels, strong non-exponential behavior can arise, as for example power l…
The dissipative dynamics of many-electron systems interacting with a thermal environment has remained a long-standing challenge within time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). Recently, the formal foundations of open quantum systems time-dependent density functional theory (OQS-TDDFT) within the master equation approach were established. It was proven that the exact time-dependent density of a many-electron open quantum system evolving under a master equation can be reproduced with a closed (unitarily evolving) and non-interacting Kohn-Sham system. This potentially offers a great adva…
We consider an extension of classical stochastic reaction-diffusion (RD) dynamics to open quantum systems. We study a class of models of hard core particles on a one-dimensional lattice whose dynamics is generated by a quantum master operator and where particle hopping is coherent while reactions, such as pair annihilation or pair coalescence, are dissipative. These are quantum open generalisations of the $A+A \to \varnothing$ and $A+A \to A$ classical RD models. We characterise the relaxation of the state towards the stationary regime via a decomposition of the system Hilbert space into trans…
We present a general approach to derive Lindblad master equations for a subsystem whose dynamics is coupled to dissipative bosonic modes. The derivation relies on a Schrieffer-Wolff transformation which allows to eliminate the bosonic degrees of freedom after self-consistently determining their state as a function of the coupled quantum system. We apply this formalism to the dissipative Dicke model and derive a Lindblad master equation for the atomic spins, which includes the coherent and dissipative interactions mediated by the bosonic mode. This master equation accurately predicts the Dicke …
Quantum stochastic methods based on effective wave functions form a framework for investigating the generally non-Markovian dynamics of a quantum-mechanical system coupled to a bath. They promise to be computationally superior to the master-equation approach, which is numerically expensive for large dimensions of the Hilbert space. Here, we numerically investigate the suitability of a known stochastic Schrödinger equation that is local in time to give a description of thermal relaxation and energy transport. This stochastic Schrödinger equation can be solved with a moderate numerical cost, ind…
We consider the relaxation dynamics of two spins coupled to a common bosonic bath. The time evolution is simulated by a generalized master equation derived within a real-time diagrammatic approach. Interference effects due to the coherent coupling to the common bath give rise to characteristic features in the relaxation dynamics after a quench or during a periodic external driving. In particular, we find that the long-time behavior during periodic driving depends sensitively on the initial state as well as on system parameters such as coupling asymmetries. When coupled to more than a single re…
The Lindblad master equation for an arbitrary quadratic system of n fermions is solved explicitly in terms of diagonalization of a 4n x 4n matrix, provided that all Lindblad bath operators are linear in the fermionic variables. The method is applied to the explicit construction of non-equilibrium steady states and the calculation of asymptotic relaxation rates in the far from equilibrium problem of heat and spin transport in a nearest neighbor Heisenberg XY spin 1/2 chain in a transverse magnetic field.
We consider an open quantum system described by a Lindblad-type master equation with two times-scales. The fast time-scale is strongly dissipative and drives the system towards a low-dimensional decoherence-free space. To perform the adiabatic elimination of this fast relaxation, we propose a geometric asymptotic expansion based on the small positive parameter describing the time-scale separation. This expansion exploits geometric singular perturbation theory and center-manifold techniques. We conjecture that, at any order, it provides an effective slow Lindblad master equation and a completel…
Optimal observables for (non-)equilibrium quantum metrology from the master equation
Instituto Galego de Física de Altas Enerxías (IGFAE), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela（加利西亚高能物理研究所，圣地亚哥-德孔波斯特拉大学）；Department of Physics, Korea University（韩国大学物理系）
