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arXiv:2510.11981 · The Journal of Chemical Physics

Open quantum dynamics theory for Coulomb potentials: Hierarchical equations of motion for atomic orbitals (AO-HEOM)

Y.-B. Zhang, Yoshitaka Tanimura

Published Nov 13, 2025• 1 citation
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We investigate the quantum dynamics of Coulomb potential systems in thermal baths. We study these systems within the framework of open quantum dynamics theory, focusing on preserving the rotational symmetry of the entire system, including the baths. Thus, we employ a three-dimensional rotationally invariant system-bath model to derive numerically "exact" hierarchical equations of motion for atomic orbitals that enable a non-perturbative and non-Markovian treatment of system-bath interactions at finite temperatures. To assess the formalism, we calculated the linear absorption spectrum of an atomic system under an isotropic thermal environment, with systematic variation of system-bath coupling strength and temperature.

DOI
10.1063/5.0299647

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We investigate the quantum dynamics of Coulomb potential systems in thermal baths. We study these systems within the framework of open quantum dynamics theory, focusing on preserving the rotational symmetry of the entire system, including the baths. Thus, we employ a three-dimensional rotationally invariant system-bath model to derive numerically "exact" hierarchical equations of motion for atomic orbitals that enable a non-perturbative and non-Markovian treatment of system-bath interactions at finite temperatures. To assess the formalism, we calculated the linear absorption spectrum of an atomic system under an isotropic thermal environment, with systematic variation of system-bath coupling strength and temperature.
Building upon our previous implementation for the hydrogen atom [Y. Zhang and Y. Tanimura, J. Chem. Phys. 163, 184108 (2025)], we have developed source code for atomic orbital-hierarchical equations of motion (AO-HEOM), a quantum mechanical framework based on HEOM formulated within an AO basis. This method enables numerically "exact" simulations of atomic systems coupled to three independent thermal baths, under both isotropic and anisotropic conditions, while preserving rotational symmetry. AO-HEOM rigorously accounts for system-bath entanglement, which is critical for describing the quantum nature of environmental interactions. Incorporating spatial bath degrees of freedom significantly increases the computational cost in the HEOM formalism because of the proliferation of electronic states at high temperatures and the inclusion of Matsubara frequency terms at low temperatures. To address this challenge, we developed a graphics processing unit-accelerated implementation. As a demonstration, we computed the emission spectra of He I and He II atoms. The source code is broadly applicable to atomic systems and enables detailed analysis of electronic transitions in thermal environments.
An open quantum system refers to a system that is further coupled to a bath system consisting of surrounding radiation fields, atoms, molecules, or proteins. The bath system is typically modeled by an infinite number of harmonic oscillators. This system-bath model can describe the time-irreversible dynamics through which the system evolves toward a thermal equilibrium state at finite temperature. In nuclear magnetic resonance and atomic spectroscopy, dynamics can be studied easily by using simple quantum master equations under the assumption that the system-bath interaction is weak (perturbative approximation) and the bath fluctuations are very fast (Markovian approximation). However, such approximations cannot be applied in chemical physics and biochemical physics problems, where environmental materials are complex and strongly coupled with environments. The hierarchical equations of motion (HEOM) can describe the numerically "exact" dynamics of a reduced system under nonperturbative and non-Markovian system-bath interactions, which has been verified on the basis of exact analytical solutions (non-Markovian tests) with any desired numerical accuracy. The HEOM theory has been used to treat systems of practical interest, in particular, to account for various linear and nonlinear spectra in molecular and solid state materials, to evaluate charge and exciton transfer rates in biological systems, to simulate resonant tunneling and quantum ratchet processes in nanodevices, and to explore quantum entanglement states in quantum information theories. This article presents an overview of the HEOM theory, focusing on its theoretical background and applications, to help further the development of the study of open quantum dynamics.
Abstract Discretizing distribution function in a phase space for an efficient quantum dynamics simulation is non-trivial challenge, in particular for a case that a system is further coupled to environmental degrees of freedom. Such open quantum dynamics is described by a reduced equation of motion (REOM) most notably by a quantum Fokker-Planck equation (QFPE) for a Wigner distribution function (WDF). To develop a discretization scheme that is stable for numerical simulations from the REOM approach, we find that a two-dimensional (2D) periodically invariant system-bath (PISB) model with two heat baths is an ideal platform not only for a periodical system but also for a system confined by a potential. We then derive the numerically ''exact'' hierarchical equations of motion (HEOM) for a discrete WDF in terms of periodically invariant operators in both coordinate and momentum spaces. The obtained equations can treat non-Markovian heat-bath in a non-perturbative manner at finite temperatures regardless of the mesh size. The stability of the present scheme is demonstrated in a high-temperature Markovian case by numerically integrating the discrete QFPE with by a coarse mesh for a 2D free rotor and harmonic potential systems for an initial condition that involves singularity.
Steady states play pivotal roles in many equilibrium and non-equilibrium open system studies. Their accurate evaluations call for exact theories with rigorous treatment of system-bath interactions. Therein, the hierarchical equations-of-motion (HEOM) formalism is a nonperturbative and non-Markovian quantum dissipation theory, which can faithfully describe the dissipative dynamics and nonlinear response of open systems. Nevertheless, solving the steady states of open quantum systems via HEOM is often a challenging task, due to the vast number of dynamical quantities involved. In this work, we propose a self-consistent iteration approach that quickly solves the HEOM steady states. We demonstrate its high efficiency with accurate and fast evaluations of low-temperature thermal equilibrium of a model Fenna-Matthews-Olson pigment-protein complex. Numerically exact evaluation of thermal equilibrium Rényi entropies and stationary emission line shapes is presented with detailed discussion.
We investigate a three-dimensional subsystem under a time-dependent U(1) gauge field coupled to rotationally invariant environments. To capture the dynamic behavior of the subsystem under thermal excitations and dissipations, it is imperative to treat the bath in a non-Markovian and nonperturbative manner. This is because quantum noise is constrained by the uncertainty principle, which dictates the relationship between the noise correlation time and the amplitude of the energy fluctuation. To this end, we derive the hierarchical equations of motion (HEOM) incorporating the gauge field, enabling a rigorous investigation of the dynamics of the reduced subsystem. Transforming the HEOM into the Wigner representation yields quantum hierarchical Fokker-Planck equations [U(1)-QHFPE] with U(1) gauge fields. These equations incorporate vector fields into the damping operators while preserving both gauge invariance and rotational symmetry. To demonstrate the pratical use of the formalism, we will use it to study the effects of a heat bath on the Aharonov-Bohm (AB) ring. Our investigation includes simulations of the equilibrium distribution, linear absorption spectra, and AB currents under thermal conditions. Within a rotationally invariant system-bath model, we predict the emergence of a persistent current even in dissipative environments, provided the bath is non-Markovian and the temperature is sufficiently low. We also assessed the validity of the Caldeira-Leggett model in this context.
We develop a quantum-classical hierarchical equations of motion (QC-HEOM) approach for simulating non-Markovian open quantum systems. The method combines the ensemble-averaged classical path reference of the quantum-classical path integral formalism with a hierarchy of auxiliary quantum influence functionals. By incorporating thermal fluctuations through an ensemble average over reference trajectories, the hierarchy is required to represent only the residual quantum memory associated with the imaginary part of the bath response function. Consequently, unlike conventional hierarchical equations of motion, QC-HEOM does not require Matsubara or Padé expansions of the thermal kernel and exhibits only weak temperature dependence of the hierarchy size. Furthermore, because thermal fluctuations are supplied through reference classical trajectories, the framework naturally extends beyond harmonic baths and enables the incorporation of anharmonic and molecular environments through externally generated trajectories. We derive the formalism and demonstrate its exactness for a harmonic bath. Applications to an asymmetric spin-boson model and the seven-site Fenna--Matthews--Olson complex illustrate the accuracy of QC-HEOM. It reproduces benchmark quasi-adiabatic path integral and hierarchical equations of motion results while requiring substantially fewer auxiliary objects, particularly at low temperatures. These results establish QC-HEOM as an efficient framework for treating residual quantum memory in quantum-classical descriptions of open-system dynamics. The separation of thermal fluctuations from residual quantum memory through the use of Wigner trajectories provides an approximate route toward hierarchical treatments of complex anharmonic environments that are inaccessible to conventional HEOM approaches.