Theory of open systems I

Abstract

A new method of treating open systems is presented. The normal treatment using the generalized master equation with the projection of Argyres and Kelley is meaningful only if the state of the reservoir never deviates appreciably from the reference state which appears in the projection. Otherwise, one must make at least a partial resummation of the perturbative expansion of the kernel of the generalized master equation. The present method avoids the introduction of a projection operator and allows us to overcome such resummation difficulties. It is based on an integrodifferential equation for the statistical operator of the composite system, which naturally provides a hierarchy of equations involving the statistical operator ϱ( t) of the open system and suitable quantities describing higher and higher order bath-system correlations. Treating the deviations of the bath from its initial equilibrium or stationary state as expansion parameters, one gets an approximation scheme, each step of which gives a closed system of equations for ϱ( t) and a suitable set of correlation quantities. Eliminating such quantities one obtains a closed linear integrodifferential equation for ϱ( t). The zeroth approximation in the deviations coincides with the Born approximation of the generalized master equation which uses the projection of Argyres and Kelley. On the other hand, even the first approximation is equivalent to the resummation of infinite contribution of the Born series of such a generalised master equation. When it is suitable, the concentration of the bath can also be used as an expansion parameter to handle the hierarchy.