We examine the validity of the Kraus representation in the presence of initial correlations and show that it is assured only when a joint dynamics is locally unitary.
Quantum dissipation is studied for a discrete system that linearly interacts with a reservoir of harmonic oscillators at thermal equilibrium. Initial correlations between system and reservoir are assumed to be absent. The dissipative dynamics as determined by the unitary evolution of system and reservoir is described by a Kraus map consisting of an infinite number of matrices. For all Laplace-transformed Kraus matrices exact solutions are constructed in terms of continued fractions that depend on the pair correlation functions of the reservoir. By performing factorizations in the Kraus map a p…
Quantum dissipation is studied for a discrete system that linearly interacts with a reservoir of harmonic oscillators at thermal equilibrium. Initial correlations between system and reservoir are assumed to be absent. The dissipative dynamics as determined by the unitary evolution of system and reservoir is described by a Kraus map consisting of an infinite number of matrices. For all Laplace-transformed Kraus matrices exact solutions are constructed in terms of continued fractions that depend on the pair correlation functions of the reservoir.
Generic mesoscopic quantum systems that interact with their environment tend to display appreciable correlations with environment that often play an important role in the physical properties of the system. However, the experimental methods needed to characterize such systems either ignore the role of initial correlations or scale unfavourably with system dimensions. Here, we present a technique that is agnostic to system-environment correlations and can be potentially implemented experimentally. Under a specific set of constraints, we demonstrate the ability to detect and measure specific corr…
Open quantum systems are a subject of immense interest as their understanding is crucial in the implementation of modern quantum technologies. In the study of their dynamics, the role of the initial system-environment correlations is commonly ignored. In this work, to gain insights into the role of these correlations, we solve an exactly solvable model of a single two-level system interacting with a spin environment, with the initial system state prepared by a suitable unitary operation. By solving the dynamics exactly for arbitrary system-environment coupling strength while taking into accoun…
Correlations between a system and its environment lead to errors in an open quantum system. Detecting those correlations would be valuable for avoiding and/or correcting those errors. Here we show that we can detect correlations by only measuring the system itself if we know the cause of the interaction between the two, for example in the case of a dipole-dipole interaction. We investigate the unitary $U$ which is associated with the exchange Hamiltonian and examine the ability to detect initial correlations between a system and its environment for various types of initial states. The states w…
An equation of motion for open quantum systems incorporating memory effects and initial correlations with the environment is presented in terms of an effective Liouville operator that solely acts on states of the system. The environment can induce memory effects via the frequency dependence of the effective Liouville and initial correlations can be mapped to a shifted frequency dependent initial state within the system. The equation of motion generalizes the well known semi-group dynamic equations. In generic systems the effective Liouville has a non-degenerate zero mode. By probability conser…
Understanding the dynamics of open quantum systems is a highly important task for the implementation of emerging quantum technologies. To make the problem tractable theoretically, it is common to neglect initial system-environment correlations. However, this assumption is questionable in situations where the system is interacting strongly with the environment. In particular, the system state preparation can then influence the dynamics of the system via the system-environment correlations. To gain insight into the effect of these correlations, we solve an exactly solvable model of a quantum spi…
We find the geometric phase of a two-level system undergoing pure dephasing via interaction with an arbitrary environment, taking into account the effect of the initial system-environment correlations. We use our formalism to calculate the geometric phase for the two-level system in the presence of both harmonic oscillator and spin environments, and we consider the initial state of the two-level system to be prepared by a projective measurement or a unitary operation. The geometric phase is evaluated for a variety of parameters such as the system-environment coupling strength to show that the …
Dynamics of open quantum systems depends on different types of initial correlations. On the one hand, when system and environment are both inherently multipartite, initial correlations between the parties of the composite environment make the dynamical map non-local, despite of local nature of the interaction between each party of the system and the environment. On the other hand, initial correlations between the open system and its environment prevents one from defining a completely positive dynamical map. Recently, dephasing dynamics of photons has been used in both of these frameworks - the…
We investigate the dynamics of open quantum systems which are initially correlated with their environment. The strategy of our approach is to analyze how given, fixed initial correlations modify the evolution of the open system with respect to the corresponding uncorrelated dynamical behavior with the same fixed initial environmental state, described by a completely positive dynamical map. We show that, for any predetermined initial correlations, one can introduce a linear dynamical map on the space of operators of the open system which acts like the proper dynamical map on the set of physical…
Entropy production provides a general way to state the second law of thermodynamics for non-equilibrium scenarios. In open quantum system dynamics, it also serves as a useful quantifier of the degree of irreversibility. In this work we shed light on the relation between correlations, initial preparation of the system and non-Markovianity by studying a system of two harmonic oscillators independently interacting with their local baths. Their dynamics, described by a time-local master equation, is solved to show - both numerically and analytically - that the global purity of the initial state of…
Fast and reliable reset of a qubit is a key prerequisite for any quantum technology. For real world open quantum systems undergoing non-Markovian dynamics, reset implies not only purification, but in particular erasure of initial correlations between qubit and environment. Here, we derive optimal reset protocols using a combination of geometric and numerical control theory. For factorizing initial states, we find a lower limit for the entropy reduction of the qubit as well as a speed limit. The time-optimal solution is determined by the maximum coupling strength. Initial correlations, remarkab…
Traditional form of the second law of thermodynamics is strongly restricted by three conditions: One is the initial joint state of the system and surroundings should be a product state, so that there exists no initial correlations. The second is the initial states of surroundings are in equilibrium thermodynamics. And the end is weak couplings between the system and surroundings. This formulation of the second law should be reexamined in order to understand the relations of thermodynamics and information theory, especially, when existing initial correlations. In this work, using the techniques…
The emerging quantum technologies heavily rely on the understanding of dynamics in open quantum systems. In the Born approximation, the initial system-bath correlations are often neglected which can be violated in the strong coupling regimes and quantum state preparation. In order to understand the influence of initial system-bath correlations, we study the extent to which these initial correlations and the distance of separation between qubits influence the dynamics of quantum entanglement and coherence. It is shown that at low temperatures, the initial correlations have no role to play while…