Quantum Brownian Motion Research Articles

Real-time quantum dynamics of heavy-quark systems at high temperature

On the basis of the closed-time-path formalism of nonequilibrium quantum field theory, we derive the real-time quantum dynamics of heavy-quark systems. Even though our primary goal is the description of heavy quarkonia, our method allows a unified description of the propagation of single heavy quarks as well as their bound states. To make calculations tractable, we deploy leading-order perturbation theory and consider the nonrelativistic limit. Various dynamical equations, such as the master equation for quantum Brownian motion and the time-evolution equation for heavy-quark and quarkonium forward correlators, are obtained from a single operator: the renormalized effective Hamiltonian. We are thus able to reproduce previous results of perturbative calculations of the drag force and the complex potential simultaneously. In addition, we present stochastic time-evolution equations for the heavy-quark and quarkonium wave function, which are equivalent to the dynamical equations.

Decoherence of quantum Brownian motion in noncommutative space

Abstract The decoherence of a harmonic oscillator under two-dimensional quantum Brownian motion on a noncommutative plane is investigated. The interaction with the environment is considered by two separate models so-called coupled and uncoupled. The two-dimensional master equation and its noncommutative counterpart are derived for both employed models. The rate of the linear entropy (predictability sieve) is chosen as a criterion to investigate the purity in the presence of the space noncommutativity. Besides, a two-dimensional charged harmonic oscillator on a plane which is imposed by a perpendicular magnetic field is introduced as a realization of our model. Therefore, our approach provides a formalism to investigate the influence of the magnetic field on the decoherence of the pure states. We show that in the high magnetic field limit the rate of the decoherence will be decreased.

Critical frequency control in harmonic quantum Brownian motion

The dissipative effects of a quantum harmonic oscillator, initially set in a coherent state and linearly coupled to a continuous distribution of frequency modes, are analyzed over long time scales in relation to the behavior of the spectral density near an arbitrary band gap, arbitrarily shaped at the higher frequencies. The reservoir is initially set either in the vacuum state or in continuous distributions of coherent states. These distributions are arbitrarily shaped at high frequencies and structured in sub- or super-ohmic configurations near an arbitrary band gap frequency. Similarly to certain decoherence processes of a qubit, critical conditions emerge, such that arbitrarily slow inverse power law relaxations of the expectation values of the observables, are obtained by approaching the boundary between the sub- and the super-ohmic regimes. Also, in such critical conditions, a trapping of the number of excitations appears in the super-ohmic regime. The technique of critical frequency control, emerging in the scenario of the environment-induced decoherence of a qubit via the reservoir engineering approach, is extended to the harmonic quantum Brownian motion.

Fermionic stochastic Schrödinger equation and master equation: An open-system model

This paper considers the extension of the non-Markovian stochastic approach for quantum open systems strongly coupled to a fermionic bath, to the models in which the system operators commute with the fermion bath. This technique can also be a useful tool for studying open quantum systems coupled to a spin-chain environment, which can be further transformed into an effective fermionic bath. We derive an exact stochastic Schr\"{o}dinger equation (SSE), called fermionic quantum state diffusion (QSD) equation, from the first principle by using the fermionic coherent state representation. The reduced density operator for the open system can be recovered from the average of the solutions to the QSD equation over the Grassmann-type noise. By employing the exact fermionic QSD equation, we can derive the corresponding exact master equation. The power of our approach is illustrated by the applications of our stochastic approach to several models of interest including the one-qubit dissipative model, the coupled two-qubit dissipative model, the quantum Brownian motion model and the N-fermion model coupled to a fermionic bath. Different effects caused by the fermionic and bosonic baths on the dynamics of open systems are also discussed.

From nonequilibrium quantum Brownian motion to impurity dynamics in one-dimensional quantum liquids

Impurity motion in one dimensional ultra cold quantum liquids confined in an optical trap has attracted much interest recently. As a step towards its full understanding, we construct a generating functional from which we derive the position non equilibrium correlation function of a quantum Brownian particle with general Gaussian non-factorizing initial conditions. We investigate the slow dynamics of a particle confined in a harmonic potential after a position measurement; the rapid relaxation of a particle trapped in a harmonic potential after a quantum quench realized as a sudden change in the potential parameters; and the evolution of an impurity in contact with a one dimensional bosonic quantum gas. We argue that such an impurity-Luttinger liquid system, that has been recently realized experimentally, admits a simple modeling as quantum Brownian motion in a super Ohmic bath.

Energy Formulas for Three Quantum Brownian Motion Models Obtained with the IEO Method

For three quantum Brownian motion models: a material particle immersed in environment; two entangled particles coupled to an environment with position coupling; and two entangled particles coupled to an environment involving both position and momentum coupling, we employ the Invariant Eigenoperator Method (IEO) to successfully derive their energy formulas.

Parallel decoherence in composite quantum systems

For the standard quantum Brownian motion (QBM) model, we point out the occurrence of simultaneous (parallel), mutually irreducible and autonomous decoherence processes. Besides the standard Brownian particle, we show that there is at least another system undergoing the dynamics described by the QBM model. We do this by selecting the two mutually irreducible, global structures (decompositions into subsystems) of the composite system of the QBM model. The generalization of this observation is a new, challenging task in the foundations of the decoherence theory. We do not place our findings in any interpretational context.

Master equation in phase space applied to the quantum Brownian motion in a tilted periodic potential

Quantum effects in the Brownian motion in a tilted cosine potential are treated in the high temperature and weak bath–particle coupling limit via the semiclassical master equation for the time evolution of the reduced Wigner function in phase space. The differential recurrence relation generated from the master equation by expanding the periodic Wigner function expressed as a function of wave number k in Fourier series via Floquet's theorem is solved for bounded periodic initial conditions using matrix-continued fractions yielding both the time-independent and the time-dependent bounded periodic solutions. Just as the classical problem, the non-periodic solution is determined from the recurrence relation by integrating w.r.t. k over the first Brillouin zone with the initial conditions generated by the non-periodic Wigner distribution corresponding to zero probability current. The time-independent periodic (locked) solution is used to estimate quantum effects in the dc current–voltage characteristic of a Josephson junction including the capacitance, while the time-dependent non-periodic (running) solution is used to determine the dynamic structure factor and ultimately via integration over the first Brillouin zone the lifetime of the zero-voltage state. The current–voltage characteristics displayed as average velocity versus tilt reproduce in the high damping limit those from the semiclassical Smoluchowski equation, while the decrease in the lifetime of the zero-voltage state due to (the barrier lowering) quantum effects appears to be very sensitive to the tilt.

Quantum and classical fluctuation theorems from a decoherent histories, open-system analysis

In this paper we present a first-principles analysis of the nonequilibrium work distribution and the free energy difference of a quantum system interacting with a general environment (with arbitrary spectral density and for all temperatures) based on a well-understood microphysics (quantum Brownian motion) model under the conditions stipulated by the Jarzynski equality [Jarzynski, Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 2690 (1997)] and Crooks' fluctuation theorem [Crooks, Phys. Rev. E 60, 2721 (1999)] (in short, fluctuation theorems, FTs). We use the decoherent histories conceptual framework to explain how the notion of trajectories in a quantum system can be made viable and use the environment-induced decoherence scheme to assess the strength of noise that could provide sufficient decoherence to warrant the use of trajectories to define work in open quantum systems. From the solutions to the Langevin equation governing the stochastic dynamics of such systems we were able to produce formal expressions for these quantities entering in the FTs and from them prove explicitly the validity of the FTs at the high temperature limit. At low temperatures our general results would enable one to identify the range of parameters where FTs may not hold or need be expressed differently. We explain the relation between classical and quantum FTs and the advantage of this microphysics open-system approach over the phenomenological modeling and energy-level calculations for substitute closed quantum systems.

The dynamical-quantization approach to open quantum systems

The dynamical-quantization approach to open quantum systems does consist in quantizing the Brownian motion starting directly from its stochastic dynamics under the framework of both Langevin and Fokker–Planck equations, without alluding to any model Hamiltonian. On the ground of this non-Hamiltonian quantization method, we can derive a non-Markovian Caldeira–Leggett quantum master equation as well as a non-Markovian quantum Smoluchowski equation. The former is solved for the case of a quantum Brownian particle in a gravitational field whilst the latter for a harmonic oscillator. In both physical situations, we come up with the existence of a non-equilibrium thermal quantum force and investigate its classical limit at high temperatures as well as its quantum limit at zero temperature. Further, as a physical application of our quantum Smoluchowski equation, we take up the tunneling phenomenon of a non-inertial quantum Brownian particle over a potential barrier. Lastly, we wish to point out, corroborating conclusions reached in our previous paper [A. O. Bolivar, Ann. Phys. 326 (2011) 1354], that the theoretical predictions in the present article uphold the view that our non-Hamiltonian quantum mechanics is able to capture novel features inherent in quantum Brownian motion, thereby overcoming shortcomings underlying the Caldeira–Leggett Hamiltonian model.

Quantifying non-Markovianity of continuous-variable Gaussian dynamical maps

We introduce a non-Markovianity measure for continuous-variable open quantum systems based on the idea put forward in H.-P. Breuer et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 210401 (2009);], that is, by quantifying the flow of information from the environment back to the open system. Instead of the trace distance we use here the fidelity to assess distinguishability of quantum states. We employ our measure to evaluate non-Markovianity of two paradigmatic Gaussian channels: the purely damping channel and the quantum Brownian motion channel with Ohmic environment. We consider different classes of Gaussian states and look for pairs of states maximizing the backflow of information. For coherent states we find simple analytical solutions, whereas for squeezed states we provide both exact numerical and approximate analytical solutions in the weak coupling limit.

Quantum Brownian Motion on Non-Commutative Manifolds: Construction, Deformation and Exit Times

We begin with a review and analytical construction of quantum Gaussian process (and quantum Brownian motions) in the sense of [25],[10] and others, and then formulate and study in details (with a number of interesting examples) a definition of quantum Brownian motions on those noncommutative manifolds (a la Connes) which are quantum homogeneous spaces of their quantum isometry groups in the sense of [11]. We prove that bi-invariant quantum Brownian motion can be 'deformed' in a suitable sense. Moreover, we propose a noncommutative analogue of the well-known asymptotics of the exit time of classical Brownian motion. We explicitly analyze such asymptotics for a specific example on noncommutative two-torus A{\theta}, which seems to behave like a one-dimensional manifold, perhaps reminiscent of the fact that A{\theta} is a noncommutative model of the (locally one-dimensional) 'leaf-space' of the Kronecker foliation.

Phase space master equations for quantum Brownian motion in a periodic potential: comparison of various kinetic models

The dynamics of quantum Brownian particles in a cosine periodic potential are studied using the phase space formalism associated with the Wigner representation of quantum mechanics. Various kinetic phase space master equation models describing quantum Brownian motion in a potential are compared by evaluating the dynamic structure factor and escape rate from the differential recurrence relations generated by the models. The numerical solution is accomplished via matrix continued fractions in the manner customarily used for the classical Fokker–Planck equation. The results of numerical calculations of the escape rate from a well of the cosine potential are compared with those given analytically by the quantum-mechanical reaction rate theory solution of the Kramers turnover problem for a periodic potential, given by Georgievskii and Pollak (1994 Phys. Rev. E 49 5098), enabling one to appraise each model.

Stability of chiral states, role of intermolecular interactions and molecular parity violation

We study the problem of stability of chiral states, also known as problem of chirality, within the framework of a two-dimensional approximation of a symmetric double-well potential. We show how the symmetry breaking of the potential due to the molecular parity violation can stop the tunneling in a coherent way, accordingly stabilize the chiral states. Then, we use the quantum Brownian motion within a linear Lindblad-type equation to model how the intermolecular interactions make the tunneling incoherent, thus inducing a racemization by dephasing. Finally, we investigate the normal physical conditions where the dephasing racemization does not suppress the effects of the molecular parity violation, accordingly the molecular parity violation may be observed experimentally.

QUANTUM TANAKA FORMULA IN TERMS OF QUANTUM BROWNIAN MOTION

AbstractA quantum local time, which is a generalized operator-valued process, is defined for quantum Brownian motion, and a quantum analogue of the classical Tanaka formula is then established.

Exact Analysis of Disentanglement for Continuous Variable Systems and Application to a Two-Body System at Zero Temperature in an Arbitrary Heat Bath

We outline an exact approach to decoherence and entanglement problems for continuous variable systems. The method is based on a construction of quantum distribution functions introduced by Ford and Lewis \cite{ford86} in which a system in thermal equilibrium is placed in an initial state by a measurement and then sampled by subsequent measurements. With the Langevin equation describing quantum Brownian motion, this method has proved to be a powerful tool for discussing such problems. After reviewing our previous work on decoherence and our recent work on disentanglement, we apply the method to the problem of a pair of particles in a correlated Gaussian state. The initial state and its time development are explicitly exhibited. For a single relaxation time bath at zero temperature exact numerical results are given. The criterion of Duan et al. \cite{duan00} for such states is used to prove that the state is initially entangled and becomes separable after a finite time (entanglement sudden death).

Exact analytical solutions to the master equation of quantum Brownian motion for a general environment

We revisit the model of a quantum Brownian oscillator linearly coupled to an environment of quantum oscillators at finite temperature. By introducing a compact and particularly well-suited formulation, we give a rather quick and direct derivation of the master equation and its solutions for general spectral functions and arbitrary temperatures. The flexibility of our approach allows for an immediate generalization to cases with an external force and with an arbitrary number of Brownian oscillators. More importantly, we point out an important mathematical subtlety concerning boundary-value problems for integro-differential equations which led to incorrect master equation coefficients and impacts on the description of nonlocal dissipation effects in all earlier derivations. Furthermore, we provide explicit, exact analytical results for the master equation coefficients and its solutions in a wide variety of cases, including ohmic, sub-ohmic and supra-ohmic environments with a finite cut-off.

A Lie Symmetry Analysis of the Caldeira-Leggett Model

An important model in the theory of open quantum systems is the Caldeira-Leggett quantum Brownian motion model for the behaviour of a massive quantum particle weakly interacting with a bath of harmonic oscillators. The model is formulated in terms of a (1 + 2) dimensional partial differential equation (PDE) for the reduced density matrix of the particle. In this paper we analyze this PDE from the perspective of Lie symmetry groups. A Lie point symmetry analysis is performed and a number of canonical reductions are obtained. Of note are new analytic solutions to the model obtained by mapping the model to the linear diffusion equation.

Quantum diffusion in a fermionic bath

We propose a scheme for quantum brownian motion of a particle in a fermionic bath. Based on the spin coherent-state representation of the noise operators and a canonical thermal distribution of the associated c numbers, we derive a quantum analog of generalized Langevin equation for quantum-mechanical mean position of the particle subjected to an external force field. The approach allows us to map the quantum problem on a classical setting. The quantum dispersion around the mean can be estimated order by order by a set of quantum correction equations up to a desired degree of accuracy for a given nonlinear potential. We derive a quantum diffusion equation for free particle and show that quantization, in general, enhances the mean-square displacement. Increase in temperature leads to suppression of mean-square displacement. The method is based on canonical quantization procedure and may be used for understanding diffusive transport and thermally activated processes in a fermionic bath.

Generalized uncertainty relations and entanglement dynamics in quantum Brownian motion models

We study entanglement dynamics in quantum Brownian motion (QBM) models. Our main tool is the Wigner function propagator. Time evolution in the Wigner picture is physically intuitive and it leads to a simple derivation of a master equation for any number of system harmonic oscillators and spectral density of the environment. It also provides generalized uncertainty relations, valid for any initial state that allow a characterization of the environment in terms of the modifications it causes to the system's dynamics. In particular, the uncertainty relations are very informative about the entanglement dynamics of Gaussian states, and to a lesser extent for other families of states. For concreteness, we apply these techniques to a bipartite QBM model, describing the processes of entanglement creation, disentanglement and decoherence at all temperatures and timescales.