We consider a class of open quantum many-body Lindblad dynamics characterized by an all-to-all coupling Hamiltonian and by dissipation featuring collective ``state-dependent" rates. The latter encodes local incoherent transitions that depend on average properties of the system. This type of open quantum dynamics can be seen as a generalization of classical (mean-field) stochastic Markov dynamics, in which transitions depend on the instantaneous configuration of the system, to the quantum domain. We study the time evolution in the limit of infinitely large systems, and we demonstrate the exactness of the mean-field equations for the dynamics of average operators. We further derive the effective dynamical generator governing the time evolution of (quasi-)local operators. Our results allow for a rigorous and systematic investigation of the impact of quantum effects on paradigmatic classical models, such as quantum generalized Hopfield associative memories or (mean-field) kinetically-constrained models.
We consider a class of open quantum many-body Lindblad dynamics characterized by an all-to-all coupling Hamiltonian and by dissipation featuring collective ``state-dependent" rates. The latter encodes local incoherent transitions that depend on average properties of the system. This type of open quantum dynamics can be seen as a generalization of classical (mean-field) stochastic Markov dynamics, in which transitions depend on the instantaneous configuration of the system, to the quantum domain. We study the time evolution in the limit of infinitely large systems, and we demonstrate the exactness of the mean-field equations for the dynamics of average operators. We further derive the effective dynamical generator governing the time evolution of (quasi-)local operators. Our results allow for a rigorous and systematic investigation of the impact of quantum effects on paradigmatic classical models, such as quantum generalized Hopfield associative memories or (mean-field) kinetically-constrained models.
Abstract We consider a class of open quantum many-body Lindblad dynamics characterized by an all-to-all coupling Hamiltonian and by dissipation featuring collective ‘state-dependent’ rates. The latter encodes local incoherent transitions that depend on average properties of the system. This type of open quantum dynamics can be seen as a generalization of classical (mean-field) stochastic Markov dynamics, in which transitions depend on the instantaneous configuration of the system, to the quantum domain. We study the time evolution in the limit of infinitely large systems, and we demonstrate the exactness of the mean-field equations for the dynamics of average operators. We further derive the effective dynamical generator governing the time evolution of (quasi-) local operators. Our results allow for a rigorous and systematic investigation of the impact of quantum effects on paradigmatic classical models, such as quantum generalized Hopfield associative memories or (mean-field) kinetically-constrained models.
Abstract We consider a class of open quantum many-body systems that evolves in a Markovian fashion, the dynamical generator being in GKS-Lindblad form. Here, the Hamiltonian contribution is characterized by an all-to-all coupling, and the dissipation features local transitions that depend on collective, operator-valued rates, encoding average properties of the system. These types of generators can be formally obtained by generalizing, to the quantum realm, classical (mean-field) stochastic Markov dynamics, with state-dependent transitions. Focusing on the dynamics emerging in the limit of infinitely large systems, we build on the exactness of the mean-field equations for the dynamics of average operators. In this framework, we derive the dynamics of quantum fluctuation operators, that can be used in turn to understand the fate of quantum correlations in the system. We then apply our results to quantum generalized Hopfield associative memories. Here we show that, asymptotically and at the description level of quantum fluctuations, only a very weak amount of quantum correlations, in the form of quantum discord, emerges beyond classical correlations.
Abstract We study the emergent dynamics resulting from the infinite volume limit of the mean-field dissipative dynamics of quantum spin chains with clustering, but not time-invariant states. We focus upon three algebras of spin operators: the commutative algebra of mean-field operators, the quasi-local algebra of microscopic, local operators and the collective algebra of fluctuation operators. In the infinite volume limit, mean-field operators behave as time-dependent, commuting scalar macroscopic averages while quasi-local operators, despite the dissipative underlying dynamics, evolve unitarily in a typical non-Markovian fashion. Instead, the algebra of collective fluctuations, which is of bosonic type with time-dependent canonical commutation relations, undergoes a time-evolution that retains the dissipative character of the underlying microscopic dynamics and exhibits non-linear features. These latter disappear by extending the time-evolution to a larger algebra where it is represented by a continuous one-parameter semigroup of completely positive maps. The corresponding generator is not of Lindblad form and displays mixed quantum-classical features, thus indicating that peculiar hybrid systems may naturally emerge at the level of quantum fluctuations in many-body quantum systems endowed with non time-invariant states.
This work is about a quantum-mechanical generalisation of transition rate theory that accounts for temperature-dependent quantum-dynamical effects. The starting point of this investigation is a formulation of the classical transmission coefficient where the activated dynamics is needed to obtain the time evolution of the classical state function and the rate is expressed as an average flux in momentum space. Traditional approaches to quantum transition rate theory are briefly discussed, with emphasis on the fact that these do not generally require knowledge of the open quantum dynamics. The latter can be studied by means of the Lindblad equation for mixed states, which is shown to be analogous to an average over realisations of a certain type of stochastic Schrödinger dynamics. The stochastic evolution in Hilbert space is used in combination with an ansatz for the wave function as a Gaussian wave packet to show that under appropriate assumptions the stochastic Schrödinger equation converges to the classical Langevin equation. A novel formulation of the quantum transmission coefficient is presented which features a quantum-mechanical version of the state function obtained via the density operator, so that the activated quantum dynamics can be taken into account by solving the Lindblad equation. A numerical investigation of the quantum transmission coefficient thus obtained for different temperatures is carried out, along with a comparison to the classical results. The quantum-mechanical transmission coefficient is found to display some expected features, such as vanishing in the limit as t → 0, displaying a “plateau” value for certain values of the temperature, and decaying to zero exponentially fast when the fundamental assumptions of TRT do not hold. Additionally the plateau value of the quantum transmission coefficient is found to be smaller than the classical counterpart in all regimes, and to approach the corresponding classical value in the limit of large temperatures.
The theory of open quantum systems represents one of the major developments of quantum mechanics over the last 50 years. Its central object of study is constituted by quantum systems that cannot be regarded as fully isolated, but instead interact with additional degrees of freedom, giving rise to irreversible phenomena such as dissipation and decoherence. The tools provided by this framework are nowadays of paramount importance across many active areas of research, including quantum computation, thermodynamics, metrology and biology. In this thesis, we investigate three main topics within the field. The first contribution concerns the microscopic derivation of the evolution equations, socalled quantum master equations, for open systems which are also subject to external driving fields. Standard techniques developed for time-independent Hamiltonians encounter several difficulties in the time-dependent case, largely restricting their applicability to specific instances, such as periodic or adiabatic drivings. In contrast, a core result of the derivation presented in the thesis is that, when the environment is sufficiently Markovian (essentially, memoryless), the non-adiabatic contributions to the driving field can be neglected in a controlled fashion, yielding an accurate master equation with time-dependent generator, capable of correctly reproducing the open dynamics even for strong drivings. This result is further supported by benchmarks against numerically exact simulations. The second contribution addresses the long-time behavior of general types of (Markovian) quantum master equations, including those of the form introduced above. While this problem has been extensively analyzed in the time-independent setting, virtually no results are known for time-dependent generators. In particular, we establish the foundations of a general theory of relaxation, that is, convergence towards an asymptotic trajectory in the long-time limit, independently of the initial state. The main results include a theorem guaranteeing sufficient conditions for relaxation and the derivation of a rate function governing the convergence to the asymptotic trajectory. The analysis is further extended to a simple non-Markovian case. Moreover, we treat in detail the specific master equation derived in the first part, connecting the aforementioned relaxation property directly to the underlying microscopic dynamics. The third contribution investigates chirality-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effects from the perspective of open quantum systems. Although the majority of theoretical studies aiming to model CISS are based on a coherent description of the spin dynamics, such effects have been observed also for electrons subject to incoherent transport across molecular networks. In this regard, we provide a rigorous ab initio derivation of the microscopic Hamiltonian describing the electronic transport, incorporating electron spin effects and contributions stemming from the nuclear vibrations. Within this result, we critically revise a master equation approach aiming to explain the origin of CISS effects observed in photosynthetic complexes. Taken together, these contributions offer fresh insights and original results on the interplay between driving fields and dissipation, relaxation phenomena, and electronic spin transport in the presence of incoherent dynamics. More broadly, these results provide new theoretical tools with several potential applications in quantum technologies, from modeling of control pulses in noisy environments to quantum reservoir engineering, and contribute to a deeper understanding of the role of quantum effects in biological systems.
We consider a system of N identical quantum particles coupled to an environment. The coupling is scaled in a mean-field way, and particles interact indirectly through the environment. There is no direct interaction between particles. The time evolution of the mean-field-scaled particles is called the mean-field dynamics and the limit of the evolution as N → ∞ is called the mean-field limit. The study of mean-field limits is an active topic of research in many-body quantum theory. Previously, almost all research in this area has been carried out for directly interacting particles without interaction with an environment. In this thesis, we prove that under a suitable condition on the initial system states the mean-field limit in the above indirectly interacting particle system does exist. The condition is satisfied in particular for spin ½ (qubit) systems. Assuming this condition, we show that the system dynamics is the free dynamics in the mean-field limit N → ∞, and we find the first and second correction terms. We show that the particles have a collective effect on the dynamics of the environment (reservoir) which we derive analytically. We give examples to illustrate our results.