On the unphysical solutions of the Kadanoff-Baym equations in linear response: Correlation-induced homogeneous density-distribution and attractors

Abstract

In modern quantum many-body physics, the Kadanoff-Baym equations have become a crucial component in the treatment of strongly and weakly correlated systems far from equilibrium. From the one-particle Green function $G$($t$,${t}^{\ensuremath{'}}$), they allow for the calculation of time-dependent expectation values of all one-particle observables and the total energy. In this work, for isolated Coulomb systems, the numerical behavior of the Kadanoff-Baym equations is investigated. The electron density dynamics are damped to an unphysical homogeneous density distribution, across both the linear and nonlinear response regimes. Unphysical features are shown to exist for $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Phi}}$-derivable self-energy approximations, such as Hartree-Fock, second-Born, or $G\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}W$, in Hubbard and Coulomb systems, irrespective of interaction strength. With this degree of universality, these findings are pertinent to all two-time formalisms, and suggest the need for a different approach to the dynamics of quantum systems.