The Bloch equation is the fundamental dynamical model applicable to arbitrary two-level systems. Analytical solutions to date are incomplete for a number of reasons that motivate further investigation. The solution obtained here for the propagator, which generates the time evolution of the system and embodies all the system dynamics, is compact and completely general. The parameter space that results in division by zero in previous treatments is explicitly defined and accommodated in the solution. Polynomial roots required for the solution are expressed in terms of a single real root obtained using simple functional forms. A simple graphical rendition of this root is developed that clarifies and characterizes its dependence on the physical parameters of the problem. As a result, the explicit time dependence of the system as a function of its physical parameters is immediately evident. Several intuitive models of system dynamics are also developed. In particular, the Bloch equation is separable in the proper coordinate system, written as the sum of a relaxation operator and either a null operator or a commuting rotation. The propagator thus drives either pure relaxation or relaxation followed by a rotation. The paper provides a basis for increased physical insight into the Bloch equation and its widespread applications.
The Bloch equation is the fundamental dynamical model applicable to arbitrary two-level systems. Analytical solutions to date are incomplete for a number of reasons that motivate further investigation. The solution obtained here for the propagator, which generates the time evolution of the system and embodies all the system dynamics, is compact and completely general. The parameter space that results in division by zero in previous treatments is explicitly defined and accommodated in the solution. Polynomial roots required for the solution are expressed in terms of a single real root obtained using simple functional forms. A simple graphical rendition of this root is developed that clarifies and characterizes its dependence on the physical parameters of the problem. As a result, the explicit time dependence of the system as a function of its physical parameters is immediately evident. Several intuitive models of system dynamics are also developed. In particular, the Bloch equation is separable in the proper coordinate system, written as the sum of a relaxation operator and either a null operator or a commuting rotation. The propagator thus drives either pure relaxation or relaxation followed by a rotation. The paper provides a basis for increased physical insight into the Bloch equation and its widespread applications.
The Bloch equation and its variants constitute the fundamental dynamical model for arbitrary two-level systems. Many important processes, including those in more complicated systems, can be modeled and understood through the two-level approximation. It is therefore of widespread relevance, especially as it relates to understanding dissipative processes in current cutting-edge applications of quantum mechanics. Although the Bloch equation has been the subject of considerable analysis in the 70 years since its inception, there is still, perhaps surprisingly, significant work that can be done. This paper extends the scope of previous analyses. It provides a framework for more fully understanding the dynamics of dissipative two-level systems. A solution is derived that is compact, tractable, and completely general, in contrast to previous results. Any solution of the Bloch equation depends on three roots of a cubic polynomial that are crucial to the time dependence of the system. The roots are typically only sketched out qualitatively, with no indication of their dependence on the physical parameters of the problem. Degenerate roots, which modify the solutions, have been ignored altogether. Here the roots are obtained explicitly in terms of a single real-valued root that is expressed as a simple function of the system parameters. For the conventional Bloch equation, a simple graphical representation of this root is presented that makes evident the explicit time dependence of the system for each point in the parameter space. Several intuitive, visual models of system dynamics are developed. A Euclidean coordinate system is identified in which any generalized Bloch equation is separable, i.e., the sum of commuting rotation and relaxation operators. The time evolution in this frame is simply a rotation followed by relaxation at modified rates that play a role similar to the standard longitudinal and transverse rates. These rates are functions of the applied field, which provides information towards control of the dissipative process. The Bloch equation also describes a system of three coupled harmonic oscillators, providing additional perspective on dissipative systems.
A systematic, rigorous, and complete investigation of the Bloch equations in time-harmonic driving classical field is performed. Our treatment is unique in that it takes full advantage of the partial fraction decomposition over real number field, which makes it possible to find and classify all analytic solutions. Torrey's analytic solution in the form of exponentially damped harmonic oscillations [Phys. Rev. {\bf 76}, 1059 (1949)] is found to dominate the parameter space, which justifies its use at numerous occasions in magnetic resonance and in quantum optics of atoms, molecules, and quantum dots. The unorthodox solutions of the Bloch equations, which do not have the form of exponentially damped harmonic oscillations, are confined to rather small detunings δ2≲(γ−γt)2/27 and small field strengths Ω2≲8(γ−γt)2/27, where γ and γt describe decay rates of the excited state (the total population relaxation rate) and of the coherence, respectively. The unorthodox solutions being readily accessible experimentally are characterized by rather featureless time dependence.
In this paper, we present analytical solutions to the Bloch equations. After solving the secular equation for the eigenvalues, derived from the Bloch equations, analytical solutions for the temporal evolution of the magnetization vector are obtained at arbitrary initial conditions. Subsequently, explicit analytical expressions of the propagator for the Bloch equations and optical Bloch equations are obtained. Compared to the results of existing analytical studies, the present results are more succinct and rigorous, and they can predict the behavior of the propagator in different regions of parameter spaces. The analytical solutions to the propagator can be directly used in composite laser-pulse spectroscopy.
The Bloch equation that set the foundation for open quantum systems, was conceived by pure physical reasoning. Since then, the Lindblad (GKLS) form of a quantum master equation, its most general mathematical representation, became an established staple in the open quantum systems toolbox. It allows to describe a multitude of quantum phenomena, however its universality comes at a cost - without additional constraints, the resultant dynamics are not necessarily thermodynamically consistent, and the equation itself lacks an intuitive interpretation. We present a mathematically equivalent form of the Lindblad master equation under a single constraint of strict energy conservation. The "elemental Bloch" equation separates the system dynamics into its elemental parts, making an explicit distinction between thermal mixing, dephasing, and energy relaxation, and thus reinstating the physical intuition in the equation. We derive the equation for a many-level system by accounting for all relevant transitions between pairs of levels. Finally, the formalism is illustrated by calculating the fixed point of the dynamics and exploring the conditions for canonical invariance in quantum systems.
Both unitary evolution and the effects of dissipation and decoherence for a general three-level system are of wide interest in quantum optics, molecular physics, and elsewhere. A previous paper presented a technique for solving the time-dependent operator equations involved but under certain restrictive conditions. We now extend our results to a general three-level system with arbitrary time-dependent Hamiltonians and Lindblad operators. Analytical handling of the SU(3) algebra of the eight operators involved leaves behind a set of coupled first-order differential equations for classical functions. Solution of this set gives a complete solution of the quantum problem, without having to invoke rotating-wave or other approximations. Numerical illustrations for multiphoton couplings and quantum control are given.
Abstract In the present article, we consistently develop the main issues of the Bloch vectors formalism for an arbitrary finite-dimensional quantum system. In the frame of this formalism, qudit states and their evolution in time, qudit observables and their expectations, entanglement and nonlocality, etc are expressed in terms of the Bloch vectors—the vectors in the Euclidean space R d 2 − 1 , arising under decompositions of observables and states in different operator bases. Within this formalism, we specify for all d ⩾ 2 the set of Bloch vectors of traceless qudit observables and describe its properties; also, find for the sets of the Bloch vectors of qudit states, pure and mixed, the new compact expressions in terms of the operator norms that explicitly reveal the general properties of these sets and have the unified form for all d ⩾ 2. For the sets of the Bloch vectors of qudit states under the generalized Gell‐Mann representation, these general properties cannot be analytically extracted from the known equivalent specifications of these sets via the system of algebraic equations. We derive the general equations describing the time evolution of the Bloch vector of a qudit state if a qudit system is isolated and if it is open and find for both cases the main properties of the Bloch vector evolution in time. For a pure bipartite state of a dimension d 1 × d 2 , we quantify its entanglement via the characteristics of the Bloch vectors for its reduced states. The introduced general formalism is important both for the theoretical analysis of quantum system properties and for quantum applications, in particular, for optimal quantum control, since, for systems where states are described by vectors in the Euclidean space, the methods of optimal control, analytical and numerical, are well developed.