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:2002.01838 · Physical Review A

Noninteracting many-particle quantum transport between finite reservoirs

Giulio Amato, Heinz‐Peter Breuer, Sandro Wimberger, Alberto Rodríguez, Andreas Buchleitner

Published Aug 11, 2020• 12 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We present a formalism to study many-particle quantum transport across a lattice locally connected to two finite, nonstationary (bosonic or fermionic) reservoirs, both of which are in a thermal state. We show that, for conserved total particle number, a system of nonlinear quantum-classical master equations describes the concurrent many-particle time evolution on the lattice and in the reservoirs. The finiteness of the reservoirs makes a macroscopic current emerge, which decreases exponentially in time and asymptotically drives the many-particle configuration into an equilibrium state where the particle flow ceases. We analytically derive the timescale of this equilibration process, and, furthermore, investigate the imprint of many-particle interferences on the transport process.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.102.022207

Related papers

Quantum transport between finite reservoirs

Giulio Amato, Heinz‐Peter Breuer, Sandro Wimberger +2 more

When driven by a potential bias between two finite reservoirs, the particle current across a quantum system evolves from an initial loading through a coherent, followed by a metastable phase, and ultimately fades away upon equilibration. We formulate a theory which fully accounts for the associated, distinct time scales, and identifies the parameter dependence of the decay rate which ultimately controls the convergence towards equilibrium. Our formalism guarantees total particle number conservation and fundamental consistency between macroscopic and internal currents flowing in the system. We furthermore establish a clear imprint of the fermionic or bosonic particle character on the resulting conductance.

arXiv:2002.01845•Feb 5, 2020•0 citations

Nonequilibrium relaxation transport of ultracold atoms

Fernando Gallego-Marcos, Gloria Platero, Christian Nietner +2 more

We analyze the equilibration process between two either fermionic or bosonic reservoirs containing ultracold atoms with a fixed total number of particles that are weakly connected via a few-level quantum system. We allow for both the temperatures and particle densities of the reservoirs to evolve in time. Subsequently, linearizing the resulting equations enables us to characterize the equilibration process and its time scales in terms of equilibrium reservoir properties and linear-response transport coefficients. Additionally, we investigate the use of such a device as particle transistor or particle capacitor and analyze its efficiency.

arXiv:1407.2804•Physical Review A•Sep 15, 2014•27 citations

Non-additive dissipation in open quantum networks out of equilibrium

Mark T. Mitchison, Martin Bodo Plenio

Abstract We theoretically study a simple non-equilibrium quantum network whose dynamics can be expressed and exactly solved in terms of a time-local master equation. Specifically, we consider a pair of coupled fermionic modes, each one locally exchanging energy and particles with an independent, macroscopic thermal reservoir. We show that the generator of the asymptotic master equation is not additive, i.e. it cannot be expressed as a sum of contributions describing the action of each reservoir alone. Instead, we identify an additional interference term that generates coherences in the energy eigenbasis, associated with the current of conserved particles flowing in the steady state. Notably, non-additivity arises even for wide-band reservoirs coupled arbitrarily weakly to the system. Our results shed light on the non-trivial interplay between multiple thermal noise sources in modular open quantum systems.

•Mar 5, 2018•97 citations

Non-additive dissipation in open quantum networks out of equilibrium

Mark T. Mitchison, Martin Bodo Plenio

We theoretically study a simple non-equilibrium quantum network whose dynamics can be expressed and exactly solved in terms of a time-local master equation. Specifically, we consider a pair of coupled fermionic modes, each one locally exchanging energy and particles with an independent, macroscopic thermal reservoir. We show that the generator of the asymptotic master equation is not additive, i.e. it cannot be expressed as a sum of contributions describing the action of each reservoir alone. Instead, we identify an additional interference term that generates coherences in the energy eigenbasis, associated with the current of conserved particles flowing in the steady state. Notably, non-additivity arises even for wide-band reservoirs coupled arbitrarily weakly to the system. Our results shed light on the non-trivial interplay between multiple thermal noise sources in modular open quantum systems.

arXiv:1708.05574•New Journal of Physics•Dec 5, 2017•112 citations

Information transport and transport-induced entanglement in open fermion chains

Andrea Nava, Claudia Artiaco, Yuval Gefen +4 more

Understanding the entanglement dynamics in quantum many-body systems under steady-state transport conditions is an actively pursued challenging topic. Hydrodynamic equations, akin to transport equations for charge or heat, would be of great interest but face severe challenges because of the inherent nonlocality of entanglement and the difficulty of identifying conservation laws. We show that progress is facilitated by using information as key quantity related to - but distinct from - entanglement. Employing the recently developed "information lattice" framework, we formulate general continuity equations governing the flow of spatially and scale-resolved information currents in nonequilibrium open quantum systems. To illustrate our theory, we consider noninteracting fermion chains coupled to dissipative reservoirs, using Lindblad master equations. By relating the information lattice to a noise lattice constructed from particle-number fluctuations, we show that information is experimentally accessible via noise measurements. Similarly, local information currents can be obtained by measuring particle currents, onsite occupations, and covariances of particle numbers and/or particle currents. Using the fermionic negativity to quantify bipartite entanglement, we also study transport-induced entanglement and its relation to information currents. For a clean particle-hole symmetric chain, we find that information currents are shielded from entering the information lattice. Impurities or particle-hole asymmetry break this effect, causing information current flow and entanglement between end segments of the chain. Our work opens the door to systematic investigations of information transport and entanglement generation in driven open quantum systems far from equilibrium.

quant-pharXiv:2601.14153•Physical Review Research•Jan 21, 2026•1 citation

Current, quantum transport and entropic force of bosonic system interacting with two thermal reservoirs

Jayarshi Bhattacharya, Gautam Gangopadhyay, Sunandan Gangopadhyay

Abstract This paper investigates the dynamics of current and quantum transport factor in a bosonic system consisting of a central system interacting with two reservoirs at different temperatures. We derive a master equation describing the time evolution of the density matrix of the system, accounting for the interactions and energy transfer between the components. We quantify the current, representing the flow of bosons through the system and analyse its dependence on the system's parameters and temperatures of the thermal reservoirs. In the steady state regime, we derived an expression for the quantum transport factor of the energy transfer process. Our analysis show that quantum effects, such as the dependence on temperature can significantly impact this factor. In particular, we observe that the transport factor of the quantum system is greater than the corresponding factor when the temperature goes to infinity, where the factor has an identical form with the Carnot efficiency of an ideal heat engine. We then derived the Fokker-Planck equation to find out the Glauber-Sudarsan P-representation. In the steady state of the equation, the probability distribution comes out to be in Gaussian form. We then calculated the entropic force for this probability distribution which gives the Hooke's law in the steady state, in agreement with the fact that our system is a harmonic oscillator.

arXiv:2403.12112•Physica Scripta•Dec 20, 2024•1 citation
We present a formalism to study many-particle quantum transport across a lattice locally connected to two finite, nonstationary (bosonic or fermionic) reservoirs, both of which are in a thermal state. We show that, for conserved total particle number, a system of nonlinear quantum-classical master equations describes the concurrent many-particle time evolution on the lattice and in the reservoirs. The finiteness of the reservoirs makes a macroscopic current emerge, which decreases exponentially in time and asymptotically drives the many-particle configuration into an equilibrium state where the particle flow ceases. We analytically derive the timescale of this equilibration process, and, furthermore, investigate the imprint of many-particle interferences on the transport process.
When driven by a potential bias between two finite reservoirs, the particle current across a quantum system evolves from an initial loading through a coherent, followed by a metastable phase, and ultimately fades away upon equilibration. We formulate a theory which fully accounts for the associated, distinct time scales, and identifies the parameter dependence of the decay rate which ultimately controls the convergence towards equilibrium. Our formalism guarantees total particle number conservation and fundamental consistency between macroscopic and internal currents flowing in the system. We furthermore establish a clear imprint of the fermionic or bosonic particle character on the resulting conductance.
We analyze the equilibration process between two either fermionic or bosonic reservoirs containing ultracold atoms with a fixed total number of particles that are weakly connected via a few-level quantum system. We allow for both the temperatures and particle densities of the reservoirs to evolve in time. Subsequently, linearizing the resulting equations enables us to characterize the equilibration process and its time scales in terms of equilibrium reservoir properties and linear-response transport coefficients. Additionally, we investigate the use of such a device as particle transistor or particle capacitor and analyze its efficiency.
Abstract We theoretically study a simple non-equilibrium quantum network whose dynamics can be expressed and exactly solved in terms of a time-local master equation. Specifically, we consider a pair of coupled fermionic modes, each one locally exchanging energy and particles with an independent, macroscopic thermal reservoir. We show that the generator of the asymptotic master equation is not additive, i.e. it cannot be expressed as a sum of contributions describing the action of each reservoir alone. Instead, we identify an additional interference term that generates coherences in the energy eigenbasis, associated with the current of conserved particles flowing in the steady state. Notably, non-additivity arises even for wide-band reservoirs coupled arbitrarily weakly to the system. Our results shed light on the non-trivial interplay between multiple thermal noise sources in modular open quantum systems.
We theoretically study a simple non-equilibrium quantum network whose dynamics can be expressed and exactly solved in terms of a time-local master equation. Specifically, we consider a pair of coupled fermionic modes, each one locally exchanging energy and particles with an independent, macroscopic thermal reservoir. We show that the generator of the asymptotic master equation is not additive, i.e. it cannot be expressed as a sum of contributions describing the action of each reservoir alone. Instead, we identify an additional interference term that generates coherences in the energy eigenbasis, associated with the current of conserved particles flowing in the steady state. Notably, non-additivity arises even for wide-band reservoirs coupled arbitrarily weakly to the system. Our results shed light on the non-trivial interplay between multiple thermal noise sources in modular open quantum systems.
Understanding the entanglement dynamics in quantum many-body systems under steady-state transport conditions is an actively pursued challenging topic. Hydrodynamic equations, akin to transport equations for charge or heat, would be of great interest but face severe challenges because of the inherent nonlocality of entanglement and the difficulty of identifying conservation laws. We show that progress is facilitated by using information as key quantity related to - but distinct from - entanglement. Employing the recently developed "information lattice" framework, we formulate general continuity equations governing the flow of spatially and scale-resolved information currents in nonequilibrium open quantum systems. To illustrate our theory, we consider noninteracting fermion chains coupled to dissipative reservoirs, using Lindblad master equations. By relating the information lattice to a noise lattice constructed from particle-number fluctuations, we show that information is experimentally accessible via noise measurements. Similarly, local information currents can be obtained by measuring particle currents, onsite occupations, and covariances of particle numbers and/or particle currents. Using the fermionic negativity to quantify bipartite entanglement, we also study transport-induced entanglement and its relation to information currents. For a clean particle-hole symmetric chain, we find that information currents are shielded from entering the information lattice. Impurities or particle-hole asymmetry break this effect, causing information current flow and entanglement between end segments of the chain. Our work opens the door to systematic investigations of information transport and entanglement generation in driven open quantum systems far from equilibrium.
Abstract This paper investigates the dynamics of current and quantum transport factor in a bosonic system consisting of a central system interacting with two reservoirs at different temperatures. We derive a master equation describing the time evolution of the density matrix of the system, accounting for the interactions and energy transfer between the components. We quantify the current, representing the flow of bosons through the system and analyse its dependence on the system's parameters and temperatures of the thermal reservoirs. In the steady state regime, we derived an expression for the quantum transport factor of the energy transfer process. Our analysis show that quantum effects, such as the dependence on temperature can significantly impact this factor. In particular, we observe that the transport factor of the quantum system is greater than the corresponding factor when the temperature goes to infinity, where the factor has an identical form with the Carnot efficiency of an ideal heat engine. We then derived the Fokker-Planck equation to find out the Glauber-Sudarsan P-representation. In the steady state of the equation, the probability distribution comes out to be in Gaussian form. We then calculated the entropic force for this probability distribution which gives the Hooke's law in the steady state, in agreement with the fact that our system is a harmonic oscillator.