The truncated Wigner approximation (TWA) enables us to investigate bosonic quantum many-body dynamics, including open quantum systems described by the Gorini-Kossakowski-Sudarshan-Lindblad (GKSL) equation. In the TWA, the Weyl-Wigner transformation, a way of mapping from quantum-mechanical operators to c -numbers, of the GKSL equation leads to the Fokker–Planck equation, which we calculate by reducing it to the corresponding stochastic differential equations. However, the Fokker–Planck equation is not always reduced to the stochastic differential equations depending on details of jump operators. In this work, we clarify the condition for obtaining the stochastic differential equations from the Fokker–Planck equation and derive analytical expressions of these equations for a system with an arbitrary Hamiltonian with jump operators that do not couple different states. This result leads to remarkable simplification of the complicated calculations required in the conventional procedures of the TWA. In the course of the derivation, we formulate the GKSL equation by using the path-integral representation based on the Weyl-Wigner transformation, which gives us a clear interpretation of the relation between the TWA and quantum fluctuations and allows us to calculate the non-equal time correlation functions in the TWA. In the benchmark calculations, we numerically confirm that the relaxation dynamics of physical quantities including the non-equal time correlation functions obtained in our formulation agrees well with the exact ones in the numerically solvable models. Since our formulation is widely applicable to bosonic systems such as the Bose-Hubbard model, it facilitates studies of the open quantum many-body phenomenon.
The truncated Wigner approximation (TWA) enables us to investigate bosonic quantum many-body dynamics, including open quantum systems described by the Gorini-Kossakowski-Sudarshan-Lindblad (GKSL) equation. In the TWA, the Weyl-Wigner transformation, a way of mapping from quantum-mechanical operators to c -numbers, of the GKSL equation leads to the Fokker–Planck equation, which we calculate by reducing it to the corresponding stochastic differential equations. However, the Fokker–Planck equation is not always reduced to the stochastic differential equations depending on details of jump operators. In this work, we clarify the condition for obtaining the stochastic differential equations from the Fokker–Planck equation and derive analytical expressions of these equations for a system with an arbitrary Hamiltonian with jump operators that do not couple different states. This result leads to remarkable simplification of the complicated calculations required in the conventional procedures of the TWA. In the course of the derivation, we formulate the GKSL equation by using the path-integral representation based on the Weyl-Wigner transformation, which gives us a clear interpretation of the relation between the TWA and quantum fluctuations and allows us to calculate the non-equal time correlation functions in the TWA. In the benchmark calculations, we numerically confirm that the relaxation dynamics of physical quantities including the non-equal time correlation functions obtained in our formulation agrees well with the exact ones in the numerically solvable models. Since our formulation is widely applicable to bosonic systems such as the Bose-Hubbard model, it facilitates studies of the open quantum many-body phenomenon.
The Monte Carlo trajectory sampling of stochastic differential equations based on the quasiprobability distribution functions, such as the Glauber–Sudarshan P, Wigner, and Husimi Q functions, enables us to investigate bosonic open quantum many-body dynamics described by the Gorini–Kossakowski–Sudarshan–Lindblad (GKSL) equation. In this method, the Monte Carlo samplings for the initial distribution and stochastic noises incorporate quantum fluctuations, and thus, we can go beyond the mean-field approximation. However, description using stochastic differential equations is possible only when the corresponding Fokker–Planck equation has a positive-semidefinite diffusion matrix. In this work, we analytically derive the stochastic differential equations for arbitrary Hamiltonian and jump operators based on the path-integral formula, independently of the derivation of the Fokker–Planck equation. In the course of the derivation, we formulate the path-integral representation of the GKSL equation by using the -ordered quasiprobability distribution function, which systematically describes the aforementioned quasiprobability distribution functions by changing the real parameter . The essential point of this derivation is that we employ the Hubbard–Stratonovich transformation in the path integral, and its application is not always feasible. We find that the feasible condition of the Hubbard–Stratonovich transformation is identical to the positive-semidefiniteness condition of the diffusion matrix in the Fokker–Planck equation. In the benchmark calculations, we confirm that the Monte Carlo simulations of the obtained stochastic differential equations well reproduce the exact dynamics of physical quantities and non-equal time correlation functions of numerically solvable models, including the Bose–Hubbard model. This work clarifies the applicability of the approximation and gives systematic and simplified procedures to obtain the stochastic differential equations to be numerically solved.
Phase-space approaches such as the truncated Wigner approximation (TWA) provide an efficient semiclassical framework for performing approximate simulations of the dynamics of open quantum many-body systems outside the reach of exact numerical methods but beyond the mean-field level. For bosonic systems, TWA is known to be equivalent to a Keldysh path-integral formulation truncated at second order in the so-called quantum fluctuations. This semiclassical approach provides an alternative transparent route towards approximate stochastic equations of motion, which can be efficiently solved. Here we establish the corresponding path-integral formulation for interacting open spin-1/2 systems using the continuous SU(2) phase space. We show, in particular, that a consistent treatment of dissipation requires correctly mapping operator products onto the curved spin phase space, leading to stochastic equations that coincide with those obtained from the continuous TWA formulation and thus reproduce the exact dynamics of a single dissipative spin. Our results provide a unified field-theoretic foundation for the TWA to dissipative spin dynamics and offer a systematic starting point for extensions beyond the semiclassical approximation.
We review the truncated Wigner approximation (TWA) for spins as a computationally inexpensive numerical approximation method to describe interacting and / or dissipative many-body spin systems. Using the Wigner-Moyal mapping from Hilbert space to a suitable phase space, the many-body density matrix is represented by a c-number distribution, the Wigner function. The gauge freedom in continuous phase space can be exploited to find positive Wigner functions for a large class of spin states, including entangled ones. Employing different sets of correspondence rules, we derive equations of motion for the Wigner function, which, applying controlled approximations, can be mapped to stochastic differential equations. This allows a computationally inexpensive simulation of expectation values. Using a phase-space analog of the quantum regression theorem also multi-time correlations and spectra can be obtained. To illustrate the potential of the method, we benchmark the TWA for spins with some exactly solvable problems of interacting, dissipative spin systems, and then discuss its application to collective processes, such as the superradiant emission of light. Extending the TWA to imaginary time furthermore provides a tool to approximately calculate thermal and ground states of spin Hamiltonians. Finally, we show that the TWA stochastic equations can equivalently be derived within a path-integral approach, provided that the operator products in the dissipator are rigorously mapped onto the curved phase space.
The Monte Carlo sampling of the stochastic differential equations (SDEs) based on the quasiprobability distribution function, such as the Glauber--Sudarshan P, Wigner, and Husimi Q functions provides a powerful framework for investigating bosonic open quantum many-body dynamics described by the Gorini--Kossakowski--Sudarshan--Lindblad (GKSL) equation, while considering the effects of quantum fluctuations beyond the mean-field approximation. However, the stochastic Monte Carlo simulation is possible only when the corresponding Fokker--Planck equation has a positive-semidefinite diffusion matrix, and the general conditions for the diffusion matrix to be positive semidefinite have remained unclear. In this work, starting from the path integral formulation, we first derive the sufficient conditions under which the diffusion matrix is positive semidefinite for an arbitrary Hamiltonian, jump operators, and choice of quasiprobability distribution functions. We also analytically derive the corresponding SDEs to be solved. We then investigate the dynamics of the GKSL equation in the thermodynamic limit and show that, depending on the form of the jump operators, the mean-field approximation may fail to describe the dynamics accurately, making stochastic Monte Carlo simulations indispensable. Furthermore, we derive the sufficient conditions under which the higher-order quantum fluctuation terms beyond the Fokker--Planck description vanish identically, even when the jump operators contain quadratic terms. Under these conditions, whenever the corresponding SDEs can be derived, the stochastic Monte Carlo simulation reproduces the exact dynamics. These results clarify the conditions under which the stochastic Monte Carlo simulations are both feasible and necessary for accurately describing the dynamics governed by the GKSL equation in phase space.
We present a semiclassical phase-space method to calculate thermal and ground states of large interacting spin systems. To this end, we extend the recently developed truncated Wigner approximation for spins (TWA) to the imaginary time, termed iTWA. The evolution of the canonical density matrix in imaginary time is mapped to a partial differential equation of its Wigner function. Truncation at the Fokker-Planck level leads to a set of stochastic differential equations, which can be efficiently simulated even for large systems. We show that for general Ising Hamiltonians the approximation becomes exact for large imaginary times subject only to sampling errors. Thus the iTWA is ideal to determine the ground state of spin glasses or to find solutions to quadratic unconstrained binary optimization problems (QUBO) on a controlled approximation level. We illustrate this for MaxCut on random, unweighted 3-regular graphs, encoded in an anti-ferromagnetic Ising Hamiltonian, for which finding the exact ground state and even approximations to it beyond a certain accuracy is know to be NP hard. Furthermore, in order to assess the quality of the method also for general spin models, we analyze the ground-state quantum phase transition of the transverse-field Ising model in one and two spatial dimensions, finding reasonably good agreement with the exact behavior.
Stochastic unravelings provide a useful way to represent open quantum system dynamics in terms of pure state realizations, and have been widely studied both from a fundamental and from a computational point of view. They were initially formulated for Markovian dynamics described by the Gorini-Kossakowski-Sudarshan-Lindblad master equation. However, due to recent technological and experimental development, most physical relevant dynamics present temporal correlations beyond the Markov approximation. Such correlations cause decay rates to turn temporarily negative, thus requiring the generalization of stochastic unravelings from Markovian to non-Markovian scenarios. Indeed, many unraveling techniques have been introduced in this regime, and a comprehensive review of the different jump methods is currently missing. In this work, we provide an overview of widely used quantum jump unraveling techniques for non-Markovian systems and also discuss them in terms of their numerical efficiency, divisibility requirements, Hilbert space extension, and measurement interpretation.