non-Markovian Quantum Master Equation Research Articles

Solvable class of non-Markovian quantum multipartite dynamics

We study a class of multipartite open quantum dynamics for systems of arbitrary number of qubits. The non-Markovian quantum master equation can involve arbitrary single or multipartite and time-dependent dissipative coupling mechanisms, expressed in terms of strings of Pauli operators. We formulate the general constraints that guarantee the complete positivity of this dynamics. We characterize in detail underlying mechanisms that lead to memory effects, together with properties of the dynamics encoded in the associated system rates. We specifically derive multipartite "eternal" non-Markovian master equations that we term hyperbolic and trigonometric due to the time dependence of their rates. For these models we identify a transition between positive and periodically divergent rates. We also study non-Markovian effects through an operational (measurement-based) memory witness approach.

Temperature dependence of long coherence times of oxide charge qubits

The ability to maintain coherence and control in a qubit is a major requirement for quantum computation. We show theoretically that long coherence times can be achieved at easily accessible temperatures (such as boiling point of liquid helium) in small (i.e., ~10 nanometers) charge qubits of oxide double quantum dots when only optical phonons are the source of decoherence. In the regime of strong electron-phonon coupling and in the non-adiabatic region, we employ a duality transformation to make the problem tractable and analyze the dynamics through a non-Markovian quantum master equation. We find that the system decoheres after a long time, despite the fact that no energy is exchanged with the bath. Detuning the dots to a fraction of the optical phonon energy, increasing the electron-phonon coupling, reducing the adiabaticity, or decreasing the temperature enhances the coherence time.

Polaron dynamics and decoherence in an interacting two-spin system coupled to an optical-phonon environment

We study two anisotropically interacting spins coupled to optical phonons; we restrict our analysis to the regime of strong coupling to the environment, to the antiadiabatic region, and to the subspace with zero value for $S^z_T$ (the z-component of the total spin). In the case where each spin is coupled to a different phonon bath, we assume that the system and the environment are initially uncorrelated (and form a simply separable state) in the polaronic frame of reference. By analyzing the {polaron} dynamics through non-Markovian quantum master equation, we find that the system manifests a small amount of decoherence that decreases both with increasing non-adiabaticity and with enhancing strength of coupling; whereas, under the Markovian approximation, the polaronic system exhibits a decoherence free behavior. For the situation where both spins are coupled to the same phonon bath, we also show that the system is decoherence free in the subspace where $S^z_T$ is fixed. To suppress decoherence through quantum control, we employ a train of pi pulses and demonstrate that unitary evolution of the system can be retained. We propose realization of a weakly decohering charge qubit from an electron in an oxide-based (tunnel-coupled) double quantum dot system.

Non-equilibrium effects upon the non-Markovian Caldeira–Leggett quantum master equation

We obtain a non-Markovian quantum master equation directly from the quantization of a non-Markovian Fokker–Planck equation describing the Brownian motion of a particle immersed in a generic environment (e.g. a non-thermal fluid). As far as the especial case of a heat bath comprising of quantum harmonic oscillators is concerned, we derive a non-Markovian Caldeira–Leggett master equation on the basis of which we work out the concept of non-equilibrium quantum thermal force exerted by the harmonic heat bath upon the Brownian motion of a free particle. The classical limit (or dequantization process) of this sort of non-equilibrium quantum effect is scrutinized, as well.

Nonequilibrium dynamics of the dispersive Jaynes–Cummings model by a non-Markovian quantum master equation

Decoherence of the dispersive Jaynes–Cummings model which is placed in a lossy cavity is studied by means of the time-convolutionless non-Markovian quantum master equation. The effect of the interaction between a two-level atom and photon field on the damping operator of the quantum master equation is made clear by calculating the decay of coherence and entanglement of the relevant system. It is shown that although the interaction effect on the damping operator is small when the cavity loss has the Markovian property, it becomes significantly large when the cavity loss is subject to the non-Markovian process. Furthermore, the quantum channel of the two-level atom derived by the dispersive Jaynes–Cummings model is investigated. The decay of entanglement of the two two-level atoms is examined to show the importance of the interaction effect on the damping operator.

Nonperturbative non-Markovian quantum master equation: Validity and limitation to calculate nonlinear response functions

Based on the influence functional formalism, we have derived a nonperturbative equation of motion for a reduced system coupled to a harmonic bath with colored noise in which the system–bath coupling operator does not necessarily commute with the system Hamiltonian. The resultant expression coincides with the time-convolutionless quantum master equation derived from the second-order perturbative approximation, which is also equivalent to a generalized Redfield equation. This agreement occurs because, in the nonperturbative case, the relaxation operators arise from the higher-order system–bath interaction that can be incorporated into the reduced density matrix as the influence operator; while the second-order interaction remains as a relaxation operator in the equation of motion. While the equation describes the exact dynamics of the density matrix beyond weak system–bath interactions, it does not have the capability to calculate nonlinear response functions appropriately. This is because the equation cannot describe memory effects which straddle the external system interactions due to the reduced description of the bath. To illustrate this point, we have calculated the third-order two-dimensional (2D) spectra for a two-level system from the present approach and the hierarchically coupled equations approach that can handle quantal system–bath coherence thanks to its hierarchical formalism. The numerical demonstration clearly indicates the lack of the system–bath correlation in the present formalism as fast dephasing profiles of the 2D spectra.

Decoherence of qubit entanglement caused by transient environments

The decoherence of entanglement of two-qubit states is investigated by means of the non-Markovian quantum master equation. It is assumed that the decoherence is caused by environmental systems in non-stationary states, which evolve from initial states into equilibrium states. In this case, the non-Markovian nature of the environmental systems is of essential importance. It is shown that the disentanglement time after which there is no qubit entanglement is determined by the non-Markovian effect and the thermal effect of the environmental systems.

The non-Markovian quantum master equation in the collective-mode representation: Application to barrier crossing in the intermediate friction regime

The calculation of chemical reaction rates in the condensed phase is a central preoccupation of theoretical chemistry. At low temperatures, quantum-mechanical effects can be significant and even dominant; yet quantum calculations of rate constants are extremely challenging, requiring theories and methods capable of describing quantum evolution in the presence of dissipation. In this paper we present a new approach based on the use of a non-Markovian quantum master equation (NM-QME). As opposed to other approximate quantum methods, the quantum dynamics of the system coordinate is treated exactly; hence there is no loss of accuracy at low temperatures. However, because of the perturbative nature of the NM-QME it breaks down for dimensionless frictions larger than about 0.1. We show that by augmenting the system coordinate with a collective mode of the bath, the regime of validity of the non-Markovian master equation can be extended significantly, up to dimensionless frictions of 0.5 over the entire temperature range. In the energy representation, the scaling goes as the number of levels in the relevant energy range to the third power. This scaling is not prohibitive even for chemical systems with many levels; hence we believe that the current method will find a useful place alongside the existing techniques for calculating quantum condensed-phase rate constants.