Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:1804.06522 · Physical Review A

Temperature effects on quantum non-Markovianity via collision models

Zhong‐Xiao Man, Yun‐Jie Xia, Rosario Lo Franco

Published Jun 6, 2018• 54 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Quantum non-Markovianity represents memory during system dynamics, which is typically weakened by temperature. We study here the effects of environmental temperature on the non-Markovianity of an open quantum system by virtue of collision models. The environment is simulated by a chain of ancillary qubits that are prepared in thermal states with a finite temperature $T$. Two distinct non-Markovian mechanisms are considered via two types of collision models, one where the system $S$ consecutively interacts with ancillas and a second where $S$ collides only with an intermediate system ${S}^{\ensuremath{'}}$, which in turn interacts with the ancillas. We show that in both models the relation between non-Markovianity and temperature is nonmonotonic. In particular, revivals of non-Markovianity may occur as temperature increases. We find that the physical reason behind this behavior can be revealed by examining a peculiar system-environment coherence exchange, leading to ancillary qubit coherence larger than system coherence, which triggers information backflow from the environment to the system. These results provide insights into the mechanisms underlying the counterintuitive phenomenon of temperature-enhanced quantum memory effects.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.97.062104

Related papers

Unveiling the Markovian to non-Markovian transition with quantum collision models

W. F. Magalhães, Carlos Octavio A. Ribeiro Neto, Bertúlio de Lima Bernardo

The concept of non-Markovianity in open quantum systems is traditionally associated with the existence of information backflows from the environment to the system. Meanwhile, the mechanisms through which such backflows emerge are still a subject of debate. In this work, we use collision models to study memory effects in the dynamics of a qubit system in contact with a thermal bath made up of few ancillas, in which system-ancilla and ancilla-ancilla interactions are considered. In the single-ancilla limit case, we show that the system-bath information flow exhibits an interesting mixture of chaotic and regular oscillatory behavior, which depends on the interaction probabilities. In parallel, our results clearly indicate that the information backflows decrease when new ancillas are added to the bath, which sheds light on the nature of the Markovian to non-Markovian transition.

arXiv:2210.11976•Physics Open•Feb 15, 2023•2 citations

Effect of entanglement embedded in environment on quantum non-Markovianity based on collision model

Xiao-Ming 晓明 Li 李, Yong-Xu Chen, Yun‐Jie Xia +1 more

Abstract By means of collision models (CMs) where the environment is simulated by a collection of ancillas consisting of two entangled qubits, we investigate the effects of entanglement in the environment on the non-Markovianity of an open quantum system. Two CMs are considered in this study, in the first one the open quantum system S directly collides with the environment, while in the second one the system interacts with two intermediate qubits which, in turn, are coupled to the environment. We show that it is possible to enhance the non-Markovianity by environment entanglement in both models. In particular, in the second model, we show that the initial state of the auxiliary qubits can also affect the non-Markovianity of the system and there exists the optimal combination of the initial environmental state and the initial state of auxiliary qubits. In this case, the non-Markovianity can be greatly enhanced.

Communications in Theoretical Physics•Mar 1, 2021•3 citations

Non-classicality of two-qubit quantum collision model: non-Markovian effects

Jai Lalita, Subhashish Banerjee

We investigate a two-qubit quantum system in contact with an environment modeled by a microscopic collision model with added ancilla-ancilla collisions in the non-Markovian regime. Two schemes of the two-qubit collision model with carried-forward correlations are introduced. In one scheme, a single stream of ancillae interacts with only one of the qubits of the two-qubit system; in the other, both the qubits interact with two independent sequences of ancillae, which could be at the same or different temperatures. The system's non-Markovian evolution is examined using the trace distance measure, and the non-classicality of the system is studied using the Wigner function, non-classical volume, and concurrence. Also, interesting steady-state behavior is observed when both the independent ancillae are kept at the same temperature.

arXiv:2506.23818•Jun 30, 2025•0 citations

Non-Markovianity in collision models with initial intra-environment correlations

Graeme Pleasance, Angel E Neira, Marco Merkli +1 more

Abstract Collision models (CMs) describe an open system interacting in sequence with elements of an environment, termed ancillas. They have been established as a useful tool for analyzing non-Markovian open quantum dynamics based on the ability to control the environmental memory through simple feedback mechanisms. In this work, we investigate how ancilla–ancilla (AA) entanglement can serve as a mechanism for controlling the non-Markovianity of an open system, focusing on an operational approach to generating correlations within the environment. To this end, we first demonstrate that the open dynamics of CMs with sequentially generated correlations between groups of ancillas can be mapped onto a composite CM, where the memory part of the environment is incorporated into an enlarged Markovian system. We then apply this framework to an all-qubit CM, and show that non-Markovian behavior emerges only when the next incoming pair of ancillas are entangled prior to colliding with the system. On the other hand, when system-ancilla collisions precede AA entanglement, we find the open dynamics to always be Markovian. Our findings highlight how certain qualitative features of inter-ancilla correlations can strongly influence the onset of system non-Markovianity.

arXiv:2505.05433•New Journal of Physics•Nov 1, 2025•1 citation

Non-Markovianity, coherence, and system-environment correlations in a long-range collision model

Barış Çakmak, Marco Pezzutto, Mauro Paternostro +1 more

We consider the dynamics of a collisional model in which both the system and environment are embodied by spin-$1/2$ particles. In order to include non-Markovian features in our model, we introduce interactions among the environmental qubits and investigate the effect that different models of such interaction have on the degree of non-Markovianity of the system's dynamics. By extending that interaction beyond the nearest neighbor, we enhance the degree of non-Markovianity in the system's dynamics. A further significant increase can be observed if a collective interaction with the forthcoming environmental qubits is considered. However, the observed degree of non-Markovianity in this case is nonmonotonic with the increasing number of qubits included in the interaction. Moreover, one can establish a connection between the degree of non-Markovianity in the evolution of the system and the fading behavior of quantum coherence in its state as the number of collisions grows. We complement our study with an investigation of system-environment correlations and present an example of their importance on a physical upper bound on the trace distance derivative.

arXiv:1702.05323•Physical Review A•Aug 7, 2017•67 citations

System-environment correlations and Markovian embedding of quantum non-Markovian dynamics

Steve Campbell, Francesco Ciccarello, G. Massimo Palma +1 more

We study the dynamics of a quantum system whose interaction with an environment is described by a collision model, i.e., the open dynamics is modeled through sequences of unitary interactions between the system and the individual constituents of the environment, termed ``ancillas,'' which are subsequently traced out. In this setting, non-Markovianity is introduced by allowing for additional unitary interactions between the ancillas. For this model, we identify the relevant system-environment correlations that lead to a non-Markovian evolution. Through an equivalent picture of the open dynamics, we introduce the notion of ``memory depth'' where these correlations are established between the system and a suitably sized memory rendering the overall system+memory evolution Markovian. We extend our analysis to show that while most system-environment correlations are irrelevant for the dynamical characterization of the process, they generally play an important role in the thermodynamic description. Finally, we show that under an energy-preserving system-environment interaction, a nonmonotonic time behavior of the heat flux serves as an indicator of non-Markovian behavior.

arXiv:1805.09626•Physical Review A•Jul 30, 2018•98 citations
Quantum non-Markovianity represents memory during system dynamics, which is typically weakened by temperature. We study here the effects of environmental temperature on the non-Markovianity of an open quantum system by virtue of collision models. The environment is simulated by a chain of ancillary qubits that are prepared in thermal states with a finite temperature TTT. Two distinct non-Markovian mechanisms are considered via two types of collision models, one where the system SSS consecutively interacts with ancillas and a second where SSS collides only with an intermediate system S\ensuremath′{S}^{\ensuremath{'}}S\ensuremath′, which in turn interacts with the ancillas. We show that in both models the relation between non-Markovianity and temperature is nonmonotonic. In particular, revivals of non-Markovianity may occur as temperature increases. We find that the physical reason behind this behavior can be revealed by examining a peculiar system-environment coherence exchange, leading to ancillary qubit coherence larger than system coherence, which triggers information backflow from the environment to the system. These results provide insights into the mechanisms underlying the counterintuitive phenomenon of temperature-enhanced quantum memory effects.
The concept of non-Markovianity in open quantum systems is traditionally associated with the existence of information backflows from the environment to the system. Meanwhile, the mechanisms through which such backflows emerge are still a subject of debate. In this work, we use collision models to study memory effects in the dynamics of a qubit system in contact with a thermal bath made up of few ancillas, in which system-ancilla and ancilla-ancilla interactions are considered. In the single-ancilla limit case, we show that the system-bath information flow exhibits an interesting mixture of chaotic and regular oscillatory behavior, which depends on the interaction probabilities. In parallel, our results clearly indicate that the information backflows decrease when new ancillas are added to the bath, which sheds light on the nature of the Markovian to non-Markovian transition.
Abstract By means of collision models (CMs) where the environment is simulated by a collection of ancillas consisting of two entangled qubits, we investigate the effects of entanglement in the environment on the non-Markovianity of an open quantum system. Two CMs are considered in this study, in the first one the open quantum system S directly collides with the environment, while in the second one the system interacts with two intermediate qubits which, in turn, are coupled to the environment. We show that it is possible to enhance the non-Markovianity by environment entanglement in both models. In particular, in the second model, we show that the initial state of the auxiliary qubits can also affect the non-Markovianity of the system and there exists the optimal combination of the initial environmental state and the initial state of auxiliary qubits. In this case, the non-Markovianity can be greatly enhanced.
We investigate a two-qubit quantum system in contact with an environment modeled by a microscopic collision model with added ancilla-ancilla collisions in the non-Markovian regime. Two schemes of the two-qubit collision model with carried-forward correlations are introduced. In one scheme, a single stream of ancillae interacts with only one of the qubits of the two-qubit system; in the other, both the qubits interact with two independent sequences of ancillae, which could be at the same or different temperatures. The system's non-Markovian evolution is examined using the trace distance measure, and the non-classicality of the system is studied using the Wigner function, non-classical volume, and concurrence. Also, interesting steady-state behavior is observed when both the independent ancillae are kept at the same temperature.
Abstract Collision models (CMs) describe an open system interacting in sequence with elements of an environment, termed ancillas. They have been established as a useful tool for analyzing non-Markovian open quantum dynamics based on the ability to control the environmental memory through simple feedback mechanisms. In this work, we investigate how ancilla–ancilla (AA) entanglement can serve as a mechanism for controlling the non-Markovianity of an open system, focusing on an operational approach to generating correlations within the environment. To this end, we first demonstrate that the open dynamics of CMs with sequentially generated correlations between groups of ancillas can be mapped onto a composite CM, where the memory part of the environment is incorporated into an enlarged Markovian system. We then apply this framework to an all-qubit CM, and show that non-Markovian behavior emerges only when the next incoming pair of ancillas are entangled prior to colliding with the system. On the other hand, when system-ancilla collisions precede AA entanglement, we find the open dynamics to always be Markovian. Our findings highlight how certain qualitative features of inter-ancilla correlations can strongly influence the onset of system non-Markovianity.
We consider the dynamics of a collisional model in which both the system and environment are embodied by spin-1/21/21/2 particles. In order to include non-Markovian features in our model, we introduce interactions among the environmental qubits and investigate the effect that different models of such interaction have on the degree of non-Markovianity of the system's dynamics. By extending that interaction beyond the nearest neighbor, we enhance the degree of non-Markovianity in the system's dynamics. A further significant increase can be observed if a collective interaction with the forthcoming environmental qubits is considered. However, the observed degree of non-Markovianity in this case is nonmonotonic with the increasing number of qubits included in the interaction. Moreover, one can establish a connection between the degree of non-Markovianity in the evolution of the system and the fading behavior of quantum coherence in its state as the number of collisions grows. We complement our study with an investigation of system-environment correlations and present an example of their importance on a physical upper bound on the trace distance derivative.
We study the dynamics of a quantum system whose interaction with an environment is described by a collision model, i.e., the open dynamics is modeled through sequences of unitary interactions between the system and the individual constituents of the environment, termed ``ancillas,'' which are subsequently traced out. In this setting, non-Markovianity is introduced by allowing for additional unitary interactions between the ancillas. For this model, we identify the relevant system-environment correlations that lead to a non-Markovian evolution. Through an equivalent picture of the open dynamics, we introduce the notion of ``memory depth'' where these correlations are established between the system and a suitably sized memory rendering the overall system+memory evolution Markovian. We extend our analysis to show that while most system-environment correlations are irrelevant for the dynamical characterization of the process, they generally play an important role in the thermodynamic description. Finally, we show that under an energy-preserving system-environment interaction, a nonmonotonic time behavior of the heat flux serves as an indicator of non-Markovian behavior.