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arXiv:2408.08829 · Quantum Science and Technology

Non-Markovian quantum heat statistics with the reaction coordinate mapping

Mike Shubrook, Jake Iles-Smith, Ahsan Nazir

Published Mar 28, 2025• 6 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract The definition of heat in quantum mechanics is ambiguous. Complications arise in particular when the coupling between a quantum system and a thermal environment is non-negligible, as the boundary between the two becomes blurred, making the distinction between system and environment difficult to draw. The reaction coordinate (RC) mapping can be used in such regimes to redraw the boundary between the system and environment. In this paper we combine the RC technique with a two-point measurement protocol to compare two different definitions of heat: energetic changes with respect to the full environment Hamiltonian (prior to the mapping), and energetic changes with respect to the residual environment Hamiltonian (after the mapping). We find that the latter definition displays behaviour more expected of a heat bath in the highly non-Markovian regime considered. Video summaries of this paper are available as supplementary material on the article webpage .

DOI
10.1088/2058-9565/adc6b7

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Abstract The definition of heat in quantum mechanics is ambiguous. Complications arise in particular when the coupling between a quantum system and a thermal environment is non-negligible, as the boundary between the two becomes blurred, making the distinction between system and environment difficult to draw. The reaction coordinate (RC) mapping can be used in such regimes to redraw the boundary between the system and environment. In this paper we combine the RC technique with a two-point measurement protocol to compare two different definitions of heat: energetic changes with respect to the full environment Hamiltonian (prior to the mapping), and energetic changes with respect to the residual environment Hamiltonian (after the mapping). We find that the latter definition displays behaviour more expected of a heat bath in the highly non-Markovian regime considered. Video summaries of this paper are available as supplementary material on the article webpage .
The reaction coordinate (RC) technique is emerging as a significant tool in the study of quantum dissipative dynamics and quantum thermodynamics. With the objective to further establish this tool, here we explore to what extent the method can capture non-Markovian dynamics of open quantum systems. As a case study, we focus on the pure decoherence model of a spin coupled to a harmonic reservoir. We compare the spin dynamics and measures for non-Markovianity from the exact analytical solution to simulations based on the RC method at the level of a second-order quantum master equation. We find that the RC method can quantitatively capture non-Markovian effects at strong system-bath coupling and for structured baths. This is rationalized by the fact that the collective RC bath mode, which is made part of the system, maintains system-bath correlations. Lastly, we apply our RC method and study the spin-boson model in the non-Markovian regime.
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In this article we want to present a thorough overview about the well known technique known as the Reaction Coordinate Mapping which is one of the most used theoretical tool in the context of Open quantum system and Quantum thermodynamics of quantum systems which is not weakly coupled to the reservoir. Here we discuss different aspects of the Reaction Coordinate mapping along with detailed mathematical derivations for the Bosonic and Fermionic mappings which can be achieved through the Symplectic and unitary transformations. In the later part of this article we discuss the derivation of the Quantum master equation for the extended systems (System+Reaction Coordinate) coupled to the residual reservoir in the weak coupling limit described by the usual Redfield Quantum Master equation. We observe that though the dynamics of the Extended system is Markovian in nature because of the weak coupling between the extended system and the Residual reservoir but the Reaction coordinate transformation enables us to analyses the dynamics of the system which is essentially non-Markovian.
In this tutorial we want to present a thorough overview about the well known technique known as the Reaction Coordinate Mapping which is one of the most used theoretical tool in the context of Open quantum system and Quantum thermodynamics of quantum systems which is not weakly coupled to the reservoir. Here we discuss different aspects of the Reaction Coordinate mapping along with detailed mathematical derivations for the Bosonic and Fermionic mappings which can be achieved through the Symplectic and unitary transformations. In the later part of this article we discuss the derivation of the Quantum master equation for the extended systems (System+Reaction Coordinate) coupled to the residual reservoir in the weak coupling limit described by the usual Redfield Quantum Master equation. We observe that though the dynamics of the Extended system is Markovian in nature because of the weak coupling between the extended system and the Residual reservoir but the Reaction coordinate transformation enables us to analyses the dynamics of the system which is essentially non-Markovian.
We investigate the dynamics of a two-qubit open quantum system, in particular the two-qubit spin-boson model in the strong coupling regime, coupled to two thermal bosonic baths under non-Markovian and non-equilibrium conditions. Two complementary approaches, the Hierarchical Equations of Motion (HEOM) and Reaction Coordinate Mapping (RCM), are employed to examine various coupling regimes between the qubits and their respective baths. The dynamical features of the model and the impact of the tunneling amplitude on quantum coherence of the system are probed using the l1l_1l1​-norm of coherence. The model is further shown to have non-Markovian evolution. The nontrivial task of calculating entropy production in the strong-coupling regime is performed using auxiliary density operators in HEOM. Motivated by the realization of a quantum thermal device in the strong-coupling regime, the non-equilibrium steady-state behavior of the system is investigated. Furthermore, the relationship between the heat and spin currents and the tunneling amplitude is probed.
Continuous monitoring is a powerful tool for analyzing quantum systems and is increasingly used as a non-demolition technique in quantum metrology. In this context, noisy data acquired through continuous monitoring can be used to precisely pinpoint unknown parameters of the system. However, extending the theoretical framework that connects these data to the underlying parameters beyond Markovian dynamics is notoriously difficult, primarily because such dynamics cannot be expressed as completely positive divisible maps. To overcome this, we propose a method based on the reaction coordinate mapping to extend these parameter-estimation techniques beyond the Markovian regime. Our approach specifically targets linear systems with non-Markovian dynamics undergoing Gaussian continuous measurements, such as homodyne detection. Within this framework, we analyze Bayesian estimation and provide an analytical expression for the Fisher information, alongside the asymptotic scaling of the estimation precision for arbitrary parameters. Finally, we demonstrate the efficacy of our method through the example of thermometry of a bosonic bath.