Realistic many-particle systems dynamically exchange particles with their environments. In classical physics, small variations in the number of constituent particles are commonly considered practically irrelevant. However, in the quantum mechanical context, such and similar structural variations are generically taxed due to the so-called Entanglement Relativity. In this paper we point out difficulties in deriving master equation for a subsystem of an alternative partition of the closed quantum system. We find that the Nakajima-Zwanzig projection method cannot be straightforwardly used to solve the problem. The emerging tasks and prospects for the consistent foundations are examined.
Realistic many-particle systems dynamically exchange particles with their environments. In classical physics, small variations in the number of constituent particles are commonly considered practically irrelevant. However, in the quantum mechanical context, such and similar structural variations are generically taxed due to the so-called Entanglement Relativity. In this paper we point out difficulties in deriving master equation for a subsystem of an alternative partition of the closed quantum system. We find that the Nakajima-Zwanzig projection method cannot be straightforwardly used to solve the problem. The emerging tasks and prospects for the consistent foundations are examined.
Typically, we are interested in a small system (a few particles, or some region in space), entangled with its surroundings. Exact equations (Dyson or Nakajima–Zwanzig) for the reduced system dynamics are readily derived using suitable projection operators. They are rarely solvable, however, since full account is taken for mutual influences between the system and its environment. Nevertheless, for weak mutual coupling, environment-induced dynamics in the (small) system can be much slower than system-induced dynamics in the (large) environment. This justifies the Born–Markov approximation, leading to closed equations for the system. In Hilbert space, we demonstrate the emergence of irreversible dynamics and exponential decay for pure sates. In Liouville space, we derive the Redfield equation. Invoking the secular (or, rotating-wave) approximation, we derive Pauli’s master equations, which properly account for relaxation to equilibrium. Rates of spontaneous emission, coherence transfer (Bloch equations), and pure dephasing are derived and analyzed for a dissipative qubit.
The non-Markovian master equation for open quantum systems is obtained by generalization of the ordinary Zwanzig-Nakajima (ZN) projection technique. To this end, a coupled chain of equations for the reduced density matrices of the bath ϱB(t) and the system ϱS(t) are written down. A formal solution of the equation for ϱB(t), having been inserted in the equation for the reduced density matrix of the system, in the 2-nd approximation in interaction yields a very specific extra term in the generalized master equation. This term, being nonlinear in ϱS(t), is related to the intrinsic bath dynamics and vanishes in the Markovian limit. To verify the consistence and robustness of our approach, we applied the generalized ZN projection scheme to a simple dephasing model. It is shown that consideration of the lowest order in interaction is insufficient to describe time evolution of the system coherence adequately. We explain this fact by analyzing the exact and approximate forms of ϱB(t) and give some hints how to take the dynamic correlations (which originate from the spin-bath coupling) into account.
We show that quantum mechanical entanglement can prevail in noisy open quantum systems at high temperature and far from thermodynamical equilibrium, despite the deteriorating effect of decoherence. The system consists of a number N of interacting quantum particles, and can interact and exchange particles with some environments. The effect of decoherence is counteracted by a simple mechanism, where system particles are randomly reset to some standard initial state, e.g., by replacing them with particles from the environment. We present a master equation that describes this process, which we can solve analytically for small N. If we vary the interaction strength and the reset against decoherence rate, we find a threshold below which the equilibrium state is classically correlated and above which there is a parameter region with genuine entanglement.
Abstract In the classical framework, not only can systems be identified by their space-time location, but they also possess mutually independent existences: they are individuals in the philosophical meaning of the concept. In the quantum domain, by contrast, matters are no so easy. Quantum systems cannot be labelled. Nor can they be assigned precise trajectories. Moreover, after interacting, quantum systems become interrelated in a way that does not diminish with either time or space: quantum correlations challenge the independent existence of the subsystems of a composite quantum system. Therefore, in the quantum framework the identification of open systems is a subtle issue. In this chapter I will emphasise the relative nature of open quantum systems in standard quantum mechanics by pointing out how this relativity is manifested under different forms: the relativity of entanglement, the identification of systems in decoherence, and the many ways in which a quantum system can be decomposed. Therefore, any view that considers open quantum systems as fundamental must take this relativity into account. The general purpose is to argue that the closed systems view and the open-system view are complementary approaches that need not be considered rival.
There is current interest in dynamical description of dif- ferent decompositions of a quantum system into subsystems. We investi- gate usefulness of the Nakajima-Zwanzig projection method in this context. Particularly, we are interested in simultaneous description of dynamics of open systems pertaining to dierent system-environment splits (decompo- sitions). We find that the Nakajima-Zwanzig and related projection meth- ods are system-environment split specific, that every system-environment split requires specific projector, and that projector adapted to a split nei- ther provides information about nor commute with a projector adapted to an alternative system-environment split. Our findings refer to finite- and infinite-dimensional systems and to arbitrary kinds of system-environment splitting. These findings are a direct consequence of the recently established quantum correlations relativity. We emphasize the subtlety and delicacy re- quired of the task of simultaneously describing the dynamics of alternate system-environment splits.
One of the greatest challenges in the fields of quantum information processing and quantum technologies is the detailed coherent control over each and every constituent of quantum systems with an ever increasing number of particles. Within this endeavor, harnessing of many-body entanglement against the detrimental effects of the environment is a major pressing issue. Besides being an important concept from a fundamental standpoint, entanglement has been recognized as a crucial resource for quantum speed-ups or performance enhancements over classical methods. Understanding and controlling many-body entanglement in open systems may have strong implications in quantum computing, quantum simulations of many-body systems, secure quantum communication or cryptography, quantum metrology, our understanding of the quantum-to-classical transition, and other important questions of quantum foundations. In this paper we present an overview of recent theoretical and experimental efforts to underpin the dynamics of entanglement under the influence of noise. Entanglement is thus taken as a dynamic quantity on its own, and we survey how it evolves due to the unavoidable interaction of the entangled system with its surroundings. We analyze several scenarios, corresponding to different families of states and environments, which render a very rich diversity of dynamical behaviors. In contrast to single-particle quantities, like populations and coherences, which typically vanish only asymptotically in time, entanglement may disappear at a finite time. In addition, important classes of entanglement display an exponential decay with the number of particles when subject to local noise, which poses yet another threat to the already-challenging scaling of quantum technologies. Other classes, however, turn out to be extremely robust against local noise. Theoretical results and recent experiments regarding the difference between local and global decoherence are summarized. Control and robustness- enhancement techniques, scaling laws, statistical and geometrical aspects of multipartite-entanglement decay are also reviewed; all in order to give a broad picture of entanglement dynamics in open quantum systems addressed to both theorists and experimentalists inside and outside the field of quantum information.