We shall revisit the conventional adiabatic or Markov approximation, showing its intrinsic failure in describing the proper quantum-mechanical evolution of a generic subsystem interacting with its environment. In particular, we shall show that -contrary to the semiclassical case- the Markov limit does not preserve the positive-definite character of the corresponding density matrix, thus leading to highly non-physical results. To overcome this problem, we shall propose an alternative adiabatic procedure which (i) in the semiclassical limit reduces to the standard Fermi's golden rule, and (ii) describes a genuine Limblad evolution, thus providing a reliable/robust treatment of energy-dissipation and dephasing processes.
Putting a general, physically relevant upper bound on equilibration times in closed quantum systems is a recently much pursued endeavor. In PRX, 7, 031027 (2017) Garc\'ıa-Pintos et al. suggest such a bound. We point out that the general assumptions which allow for an actual estimation of this bound are violated in cases in which Fermi's Golden Rule and related open quantum system theories apply. To probe the range of applicability of Fermi's Golden Rule for systems of the type addressed in the above work, we numerically solve the corresponding Schrödinger equation for some finite spin systems …
We investigate experimentally a Fermi golden rule in two-edge and five-edge microwave networks with preserved time reversal invariance. A Fermi golden rule gives rates of decay of states obtained by perturbing embedded eigenvalues of graphs and networks. We show that the embedded eigenvalues are connected with the topological resonances of the analyzed systems and we find the trajectories of the topological resonances in the complex plane.
We study, analytically and numerically, the stability of quantum motion for a classically chaotic system. We show the existence of different regimes of fidelity decay which deviate from Fermi Golden rule and Lyapunov decay.
A study is made of the behavior of unstable states in simple models which nevertheless are realistic representations of situations occurring in nature. It is demonstrated that a non-exponential decay pattern will ultimately dominate decay due to a lower limit to the energy. The survival rate approaches zero faster than the inverse square of the time when the time goes to infinity.
We present a Fermi golden rule giving rates of decay of states obtained by perturbing embedded eigenvalues of a quantum graph. To illustrate the procedure in a notationally simpler setting we also present a Fermi Golden Rule for boundary value problems on surfaces with constant curvature cusps. We also provide a resonance existence result which is uniform on compact sets of energies and metric graphs. The results are illustrated by numerical experiments.
Fermi's golden rule is of great importance in quantum dynamics. However, in many textbooks on quantum mechanics, its contents and limitations are obscured by the approximations and arguments in the derivation, which are inevitable because of the generic setting considered. Here we propose to introduce it by an ideal model, in which the quasi-continuum band consists of equaldistant levels extending from $-\infty $ to $+\infty $, and each of them couples to the discrete level with the same strength. For this model, the transition probability in the first order perturbation approximation can be c…
Lamar University（拉马尔大学）；Instituto de Física Rosario (CONICET-UNR)（罗萨里奥物理研究所（阿根廷国家科学研究委员会-罗萨里奥国立大学））；Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Ingeniería y Agrimensura (UNR)（罗萨里奥国立大学精确科学、工程与测量科学学院）
We reconsider the problem of the spontaneous emission of light by an excited atomic state. We scrutinize the survival probability of this excited state for very short times, in the so-called Zeno regime, for which we show that the dynamics is dictated by a coherent --in phase -- response of the on-shell and off-shell vacuum modes. We also develop a perturbative approach in order to interpolate between different temporal regimes: the Zeno, golden rule (linear) and Wigner-Weisskopf (exponential) regimes. We compare results obtained with the $\hat{\mathbf{E}}\cdot\hat{\mathbf{x}}$ and $\hat{\math…
Fermi's golden rule applies to a situation in which a single quantum state $|ψ\rangle$ is coupled to a near-continuum. This "quasi-continuum coupling" structure results in a rate equation for the population of $|ψ\rangle$. Here we show that the coupling of a quantum system to the standard model of a thermal environment, a bath of harmonic oscillators, can be decomposed into a "cascade" made up of the quasi-continuum coupling structures of Fermi's golden rule. This clarifies the connection between the physics of the golden rule and that of a thermal bath, and provides a non-rigorous but physica…
We review the calculation of Fermi's golden rule for a system of $N$-body dipoles, magnetic or electric, weakly interacting with a blackbody radiation. By using the magnetic or electric field-field correlation function evaluated in the 1960s for the black body radiation, we deduce a general formula for the transition rates and study its limiting, fully coherent or fully incoherent, regimes.
Fermi's Golden Rule (FGR) applies in the limit where an initial quantum state is weakly coupled to a {\it continuum} of other final states overlapping its energy. Here we investigate what happens away from this limit, where the set of final states is discrete, with a nonzero mean level spacing; this question arises in a number of recently investigated many-body systems. For different symmetry classes, we analytically and/or numerically calculate the universal crossovers in the average decay of the initial state as the level spacing is varied, with the Golden Rule emerging in the limit of a con…
Starting from divisibility problem for Fibonacci numbers we introduce Fibonacci divisors, related hierarchy of Golden derivatives in powers of the Golden Ratio and develop corresponding quantum calculus. By this calculus, the infinite hierarchy of Golden quantum oscillators with integer spectrum determined by Fibonacci divisors, the hierarchy of Golden coherent states and related Fock-Bargman representations in space of complex analytic functions are derived. It is shown that Fibonacci divisors with even and odd $k$ describe Golden deformed bosonic and fermionic quantum oscillators, correspond…
Perspective of Fermi's golden rule and its generalizations in chemical physics
Queens College, City University of New York（纽约市立大学皇后学院）；Graduate Center of the City University of New York（纽约市立大学研究生中心）；Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)（韩国科学技术院）
The decay of a local spin excitation in an inhomogeneous spin chain is evaluated exactly: I) It starts quadratically up to a spreading time t_{S}. II) It follows an exponential behavior governed by a self-consistent Fermi Golden Rule. III) At longer times, the exponential is overrun by an inverse power law describing return processes governed by quantum diffusion. At this last transition time t_{R} a survival collapse becomes possible, bringing the polarization down by several orders of magnitude. We identify this strongly destructive interference as an antiresonance in the time domain. These …
Focusing on the $2\mathrm{p}-1\mathrm{s}$ transition in atomic Hydrogen, we investigate through first order perturbation theory the time evolution of the survival probability of an electron initially taken to be in the excited ($2\mathrm{p}$) state. We examine both the results yielded by the standard dipole approximation for the coupling between the atom and the electromagnetic field -for which we propose a cutoff-independent regularisation- and those yielded by the exact coupling function. In both cases, Fermi's golden rule is shown to be an excellent approximation for the system at hand: we …
We demonstrate a fundamental breakdown of the photonic spontaneous emission (SE) formula derived from Fermi's golden rule, in absorptive and amplifying media, where one assumes the SE rate scales with the local photon density of states, an approach often used in more complex, semiclassical nanophotonics simulations. Using a rigorous quantization of the macroscopic Maxwell equations in the presence of arbitrary linear media, we derive a corrected Fermi's golden rule and master equation for a quantum two-level system (TLS) that yields a quantum pumping term and a modified decay rate that is net …
A novel and readily understandable derivation of the Golden Rule of time dependent perturbation theory is presented. The derivation is based on adiabatic turning on of the perturbation as used, for instance, in some formal developments of scattering theory. Energy conservation is expressed in terms of an intuitively and physically appealing Lorentzian line shape rather than the artificial, oscillatory sin(x)=x type line shape that appears in conventional derivations. The conditions for the derivation's validity are compactly and conveniently expressed in the frequency/energy domain rather than…
We discuss how the bath's memory affects the dynamics of a swap gate. We present an exactly solvable model that shows various dynamical transitions when treated beyond the Fermi Golden Rule. By moving continuously a single parameter, the unperturbed Rabi frequency, we sweep through different analytic properties of the density of states: I) collapsed resonances that split at an exceptional point in II) two resolved resonances ; III) out-of-band resonances; IV) virtual states; and V) pure point spectrum. We associate them with distinctive dynamical regimes: overdamped, damped oscillations, envir…
Many-body states described by a Schrödinger equation include states of overlapping waves of non-vanishing interaction energies. These peculiar states formed in many-body transitions remain in asymptotic regions, and lead a new component to the transition probability. The probability is computed rigorously following the von Neumann's fundamental principle of quantum mechanics with an S-matrix that is defined with normalized functions, instead of plane waves. That includes the intriguing correction term to the Fermi's golden rule, in which a visible energy is smaller than the initial energy, and…
Fermi's golden rule describes the decay dynamics of unstable quantum systems coupled to a reservoir, and predicts a linear decay in time. Although it arises at relatively short times, the Fermi regime does not take hold in the earliest stages of the quantum dynamics. The standard criterion in the literature for the onset time of the Fermi regime is $t_F\sim1/Δω$, with $Δω$ the frequency interval around the resonant transition frequency $ω_0$ of the system, over which the coupling to the reservoir does not vary appreciably. In this work, this criterion is shown to be inappropriate in general fo…
A quantum mechanical wave of a finite size moves like a classical particle and shows a unique decay probability. Because the wave function evolves according to the Schrödinger equation, it preserves the total energy but not the kinetic energy in the intermediate-time region of a decay process where those of the parent and daughters overlap. The decay rate computed with Fermi's golden rule requires corrections that vary with the distance between the initial and final states, and the energy distribution of the daughter is distorted from that of plane waves. The corrections have universal propert…
In this paper, we explore the metastable states of nonlinear Klein-Gordon equations with potentials. These states come from the instability of a bound state under a nonlinear Fermi's golden rule. In [16], Soffer and Weinstein studied the instability mechanism and obtained an anomalously slow-decaying rate $1/(1+t)^{\frac{1}{4}}$. Here we develop a new method to study the $L^2_x$ norm of solutions to Klein-Gordon equations. With this method, we prove the first $H^1$ scattering result for Klein-Gordon equations with metastable states. By exploring the oscillations, we also give another more robu…
A rigorous derivation of quantum Langevin equation from microscopic dynamics in the low density limit is given. We consider a quantum model of a microscopic system (test particle) coupled with a reservoir (gas of light Bose particles) via interaction of scattering type. We formulate a mathematical procedure (the so-called stochastic golden rule) which allows us to determine the quantum Langevin equation in the limit of large time and small density of particles of the reservoir. The quantum Langevin equation describes not only dynamics of the system but also the reservoir. We show that the gene…
We study heating dynamics in isolated quantum many-body systems driven periodically at high frequency and large amplitude. Combining the high-frequency expansion for the Floquet Hamiltonian with Fermi's golden rule (FGR), we develop a master equation termed the Floquet FGR. Unlike the conventional one, the Floquet FGR correctly describes heating dynamics, including the prethermalization regime, even for strong drives, under which the Floquet Hamiltonian is significantly dressed, and nontrivial Floquet engineering is present. The Floquet FGR depends on system size only weakly, enabling us to an…
We present a Gedankenexperiment that leads to a violation of detailed balance if quantum mechanical transition probabilities are treated in the usual way by applying Fermi's "golden rule". This Gedankenexperiment introduces a collection of two-level systems that absorb and emit radiation randomly through non-reciprocal coupling to a waveguide, as realized in specific chiral quantum optical systems. The non-reciprocal coupling is modeled by a hermitean Hamiltonian and is compatible with the time-reversal invariance of unitary quantum dynamics. Surprisingly, the combination of non-reciprocity wi…
We describe how a structured photonic medium controls the spontaneous emission rate from an excited quantum dot in the presence of electron-phonon coupling. We analyze this problem using a polaron transformed master equation and we consider specific examples of a photonic crystal cavity and a coupled cavity waveguide. We find that when the relaxation times of the photon and phonon baths are comparable, phonons influence spontaneous emission in a non-trivial way. We demonstrate why and how the broadband frequency dependence of the local photon density of states determines the photon emission ra…
We shall revisit the conventional adiabatic or Markov approximation, which --contrary to the semiclassical case-- does not preserve the positive-definite character of the corresponding density matrix, thus leading to highly non-physical results. To overcome this serious limitation, originally pointed out and partially solved by Davies and co-workers almost three decades ago, we shall propose an alternative more general adiabatic procedure, which (i) is physically justified under the same validity restrictions of the conventional Markov approach, (ii) in the semiclassical limit reduces to the s…
We discuss the decay of unstable states into a quasicontinuum using models of the effective Hamiltonian type. The goal is to show that exponential decay and the golden rule are exact in a suitable scaling limit, and that there is an associated renormalization group (RG) with these properties as a fixed point. The method is inspired by a limit theorem for infinitely divisible distributions in probability theory, where there is a RG with a Cauchy distribution, i.e. a Lorentz line shape, as a fixed point. Our method of solving for the spectrum is well known; it does not involve a perturbation exp…
We study the prethermalization and thermalization dynamics of local observables in weakly perturbed nonintegrable systems, with Hamiltonians of the form $\hat{H}_0+g\hat{V}$, where $\hat{H}_0$ is nonintegrable and $g\hat{V}$ is a perturbation. We explore the dynamics of far from equilibrium initial states in the thermodynamic limit using a numerical linked cluster expansion (NLCE), and in finite systems with periodic boundaries using exact diagonalization. We argue that generic observables exhibit a two-step relaxation process, with a fast prethermal dynamics followed by a slow thermalizing on…
In this article, we present a unified reciprocal quantum electrodynamics (QED) formulation of quantum light-matter interaction. For electron-light interactions, we bridge the underlying theories of Photon-Induced Near-field Electron Microscopy (PINEM), Laser-induced Particle Accelerators and radiation sources, such as Free Electron Laser (FEL), transition radiation and Smith-Purcell effect. We demonstrate an electron-photon spectral reciprocity relation between the electron energy loss/gain and the radiation spectra. This "Acceleration/Radiation Correspondence" (ARC) conserves the electron-ene…
We study the crossover of the quantum Loschmidt echo (or fidelity) from the golden rule regime to the perturbation-independent exponential decay regime by using the kicked top model. It is shown that the deviation of the perturbation-independent decay of the averaged fidelity from the Lyapunov decay results from quantum fluctuations in individual fidelity, which are caused by the coherence in the initial coherent states. With an averaging procedure suppressing the quantum fluctuations effectively, the perturbation-independent decay is found to be close to the Lyapunov decay. We also show that …
We modify the theory of the Quantum Zeno Effect to make it consistent with the postulates of quantum mechanics. This modification allows one, throughout a sequence of observations of an excited system, to address the nature of the observable and thereby to distinguish survival from non-decay, which is necessary whenever excited states are degenerate. As a consequence, one can determine which types of measurements can possibly inhibit the exponential decay of the system. We find that continuous monitoring taken as the limit of a sequence of ideal measurements will only inhibit decay in special …
Steady-state observables, such as occupation numbers and currents, are crucial experimental signatures in open quantum systems. The time-convolutionless (TCL) master equation, which is both exact and time-local, is an ideal candidate for the perturbative computation of such observables. We develop a diagrammatic approach to evaluate the steady-state TCL generator based on operators rather than superoperators. We obtain the steady-state occupation numbers, extend our formulation to the calculation of currents, and provide a simple physical interpretation of the diagrams. We further benchmark ou…
Emergence of Fermi's Golden Rule in the Probing of a Quantum Many-Body System
Yale University（耶鲁大学）；Joint Quantum Institute and Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science, NIST/University of Maryland（联合量子研究所与联合量子信息与计算科学中心，美国国家标准与技术研究院/马里兰大学）
Fermi's golden rule rate expression for transitions due to nonadiabatic derivative couplings in the adiabatic basis
Queens College, City University of New York（纽约市立大学皇后学院）；Graduate Center of the City University of New York（纽约市立大学研究生中心）；Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology（韩国科学技术院）
We study dephasing of a superconducting qubit due to quasiparticle tunneling through a Josephson junction. While qubit decay due to tunneling processes is well understood within a golden rule approximation, pure dephasing due to BCS quasiparticles gives rise to a divergent golden rule rate. We calculate qubit dephasing due to quasiparticle tunneling beyond lowest order approximation in coupling between qubit and quasiparticles. Summing up a certain class of diagrams we show that qubit dephasing due to purely longitudinal coupling to quasiparticles leads to a dephasing $\sim \exp(-x(t))$ where …
We study the multi-periodic oscillations in the spontaneous emission rate of an atom in a medium with refractive index n sandwiched between two parallel mirrors. The oscillations are not obvious in the analytical formula for the rate derived based on Fermi's golden rule but can be extracted using Fourier transforms by varying the system scale while holding the configuration. The oscillations are interpreted as interferences and correspond to various closed-orbits of the emitted photon going away from and returning to the atom. This system provides a rare example that the oscillations can be ex…
The decay dynamics of a local excitation interacting with a non-Markovian environment, modeled by a semi-infinite tight-binding chain, is exactly evaluated. We identify distinctive regimes for the dynamics. Sequentially: (i) early quadratic decay of the initial-state survival probability, up to a spreading time $t_{S}$, (ii) exponential decay described by a self-consistent Fermi Golden Rule, and (iii) asymptotic behavior governed by quantum diffusion through the return processes and leading to an inverse power law decay. At this last cross-over time $t_{R}$ a survival collapse becomes possible…
The probability of the events that the final states are detected with or interact with the nucleus in a finite time interval T was found to be, $P=\text T Γ_0 +P^{(d)}$. $Γ_0$ is computed with Fermi's golden rule, and does not depend on the nuclear wave functions. $P^{(d)}$ is not given by Fermi's golden rule, and depends on the nuclear wave functions. In the electron mode of pion decays, $Γ_0$ is proportional to $m_e^2$ but $P^{(d)}$ for the event that the neutrino is detected is proportional to $m_ν^{-2}$. $P^{(d)}$ does not hold the helicity suppression satisfied in $Γ_0$ and is inevitable …
A simple quantum mechanical model consisting of a discrete level resonantly coupled to a continuum of finite width, where the coupling can be varied from perturbative to strong (Fano-Anderson model), is considered. The particle is initially localized at the discrete level, and the time dependence of the amplitude to find the particle at the discrete level is calculated without resorting to perturbation theory. The deviations from the exponential decay law, predicted by the Fermi's Golden Rule, are discussed. We also study analytic structure of the Green's function (GF) for the model. We analyz…
