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arXiv:1709.04649 · Physical Review A

Realization of hierarchical equations of motion from stochastic perspectives

Wei Wu

Published Jul 9, 2018• 15 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The hierarchical equations of motion (HEOM) for a generalized quantum dissipative system is rigorously constructed in the frameworks of two different stochastic dynamical descriptions, i.e., the non-Markovian quantum state diffusion approach as well as the stochastic decoupling scheme. We demonstrated that the HEOMs obtained by these two different stochastic dynamical methods are identical. Moreover, we present some numerical examples to verify the feasibility of our formalism.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.98.012110

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Based on the path integral approach, we derive a new realization of the exact non-Markovian stochastic Schrödinger equation (SSE). The main difference from the previous non-Markovian quantum state diffusion (NMQSD) method is that the complex Gaussian stochastic process used for the forward propagation of the wave function is correlated, which may be used to reduce the amplitude of the non-Markovian memory term at high temperatures. The new SSE is then written into the recently developed hierarchy of pure states scheme, in a form that is more closely related to the hierarchical equation of motion approach. Numerical simulations are then performed to demonstrate the efficiency of the new method.

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The hierarchical equations of motion (HEOM) for a generalized quantum dissipative system is rigorously constructed in the frameworks of two different stochastic dynamical descriptions, i.e., the non-Markovian quantum state diffusion approach as well as the stochastic decoupling scheme. We demonstrated that the HEOMs obtained by these two different stochastic dynamical methods are identical. Moreover, we present some numerical examples to verify the feasibility of our formalism.
The hierarchical equations of motion (HEOM) formalism developed recently is becoming an important method for investigating the properties and dynamical processes of quantum open systems. A comprehensive account on its establishment and recent development was given, covering theoretical formulations, numerical algorithm and practical applications. By construction HEOM resolves in a nonperturbative manner the combined effects of many-body interaction, system-environment coupling and non-Markovian memory. While it is mathematically equivalent to an exact path integral formalism, HEOM is also very convenient in computation and versatile in various systems of study. Moreover, it is shown recently that HEOM is actually a correlated system-environment dynamics theory. The practicality of HEOM to address physical and chemical problems was exemplified with examples relevant to quantum dissipation and quantum transport.
We unite two of the most widely used approaches for strongly damped, non-Markovian open quantum dynamics, the Hierarchical Equations of Motion (HEOM) and the pseudomode method by proving two statements: First, every physical bath correlation function (BCF) that can be written as a sum of NNN exponential terms can be obtained from a physical model with NNN interacting pseudomodes which are damped in Lindblad form. Second, for every such BCF there exists a non-unitary, linear transformation which mirrors the evolution of the system-pseudomode state onto the HEOM hierarchy, and vice versa. Our proofs are constructive and we give explicit expressions for the mirror transformation as well as for the pseudomode Lindbladian corresponding to a given exponential BCF. This approach also gives insight and provides elegant derivations of the corresponding Hierarchy of stochastic Pure States (HOPS) method and its nearly-unitary version, nuHOPS. Our result opens several avenues for further optimization of non-Markovian open quantum system dynamics methods.
We extend a standard stochastic theory to study open quantum systems coupled to a generic quantum environment. We exemplify the general framework by studying a two-level quantum system coupled bilinearly to the three fundamental classes of non-interacting particles: bosons, fermions, and spins. In this unified stochastic approach, the generalized stochastic Liouville equation (SLE) formally captures the exact quantum dissipations when noise variables with appropriate statistics for different bath models are applied. Anharmonic effects of a non-Gaussian bath are precisely encoded in the bath multi-time correlation functions that noise variables have to satisfy. Starting from the SLE, we devise a family of generalized hierarchical equations by averaging out the noise variables and expand bath multi-time correlation functions in a complete basis of orthonormal functions. The general hierarchical equations constitute systems of linear equations that provide numerically exact simulations of quantum dynamics. For bosonic bath models, our general hierarchical equation of motion reduces exactly to an extended version of hierarchical equation of motion which allows efficient simulation for arbitrary spectral densities and temperature regimes. Similar efficiency and flexibility can be achieved for the fermionic bath models within our formalism. The spin bath models can be simulated with two complementary approaches in the present formalism. (I) They can be viewed as an example of non-Gaussian bath models and be directly handled with the general hierarchical equation approach given their multi-time correlation functions. (II) Alternatively, each bath spin can be first mapped onto a pair of fermions and be treated as fermionic environments within the present formalism.
Embedding non-Markovian open quantum dynamics into an enlarged Markovian space offers a powerful route to nonperturbative simulations, where the dynamics of the extended space can be governed by multiple distinct Markovian equations. We show that these distinct embeddings arise from different unravelings of Gaussian bath self-energies, generating a family of deterministic, time-local equations for the extended system. Using the Brownian-oscillator spectral density as an illustrative example, we clarify the relationships among existing approaches, including the Hierarchical Equations of Motion (HEOM) and the Lindblad--pseudomode formalism, and demonstrate how this framework enables numerically stable and efficient simulations. This work provides both a transparent theoretical foundation for embedding techniques and a flexible platform for developing new methods to simulate non-Markovian quantum dynamics.
In this review we give a comprehensive account of a hierarchical equations of motion (HEOM) approach to the characterization of stationary and dynamic properties of open quantum systems. This approach is rooted at the Feynman-Vernon influence functional path integral formalism, but much more implementable numerically and operationally for the study of various complex molecular dynamics and quantum transport in strongly correlated electronic systems. By construction, HEOM resolves nonperturbatively the combined effects of many-particle interaction, system-bath coupling,and non-Markovian memory. Finally the practicality of HEOM to address physical and chemical problems is exemplified with a model simulation of coherent two-dimensional spectroscopy signals of a biological light-harvesting system and a time-dependent quantum transport system involving dynamic Kondo transition.級聯方程已成為研究量子開放系統的穩態性質和動力學過程的重要方法。本文旨在系統綜述量子耗散和量子輸運的級聯方程組方法的建立、發展以及在理論、算法和應用方面的一些最新進展。級聯方程形式理論的建立以影響泛函路徑積分為基礎,并具有數值上的高效性和應用上的靈活性,可用于研究分子體系的復雜動力學過程以及強關聯電子體系中的量子輸運。其級聯耦合結構以非微擾的方式揭示了多體相互作用、體系-環境耦合、非馬爾可夫記憶等的綜合效應。作為應用示例,我們采用級聯方程模擬了生物光富集體系的二維相干動力學光譜以及含時電子輸運過程中的動態近藤效應。
Based on the path integral approach, we derive a new realization of the exact non-Markovian stochastic Schrödinger equation (SSE). The main difference from the previous non-Markovian quantum state diffusion (NMQSD) method is that the complex Gaussian stochastic process used for the forward propagation of the wave function is correlated, which may be used to reduce the amplitude of the non-Markovian memory term at high temperatures. The new SSE is then written into the recently developed hierarchy of pure states scheme, in a form that is more closely related to the hierarchical equation of motion approach. Numerical simulations are then performed to demonstrate the efficiency of the new method.