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arXiv:2603.04970 · The Journal of Chemical Physics

Uniform process tensor approach for the calculation of multi-time correlation functions of non-Markovian open systems

Matteo Garbellini, Konrad Mickiewicz, Valentin Link, Alexander Eisfeld, Walter T. Strunz

quant-phSubmitted Mar 5, 2026• Announced Mar 6, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

The process tensor framework to open quantum systems provides the most general description of multi-time correlations in non-Markovian quantum dynamics. A compressed representation of a process tensor in terms of matrix product operators (MPO) can be used for numerically exact calculations of multi-time correlation functions in systems strongly coupled to a non-Markovian reservoir. We show here that the numerical scaling for computing multi-dimensional spectra can be significantly improved using a time-translation invariant MPO representation of the process tensor obtained from the uniform time-evolving matrix product operator (uniTEMPO) method. In particular, this approach provides a spectral representation of the non-Markovian dynamics that gives direct access to correlation functions in Fourier-space, avoiding explicit real-time evolution. We calculate linear and 2D electronic spectra for an example system and discuss the performance and numerical scaling of our simulations.

DOI
10.1063/5.0331783

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The process tensor framework to open quantum systems provides the most general description of multi-time correlations in non-Markovian quantum dynamics. A compressed representation of a process tensor in terms of matrix product operators (MPO) can be used for numerically exact calculations of multi-time correlation functions in systems strongly coupled to a non-Markovian reservoir. We show here that the numerical scaling for computing multi-dimensional spectra can be significantly improved using a time-translation invariant MPO representation of the process tensor obtained from the uniform time-evolving matrix product operator (uniTEMPO) method. In particular, this approach provides a spectral representation of the non-Markovian dynamics that gives direct access to correlation functions in Fourier-space, avoiding explicit real-time evolution. We calculate linear and 2D electronic spectra for an example system and discuss the performance and numerical scaling of our simulations.
Numerical methods for obtaining exact dynamics of non-Markovian open quantum systems are mostly limited to either small systems or to short-time evolution only. Here, we propose a new algorithm for computing process tensors--matrix product operator (MPO) representations that capture the environment influence--which achieves greatly enhanced computational scalings with system size, while maintaining linear scaling with simulation length. We build on recent developments in the field which allow for long-time evolutions through process tensors which have a time-translational invariance. These can be built for general Gaussian environments and generic coupling operators with the system using infinite time-evolving block decimation (iTEBD). We introduce a modified iTEBD algorithm using intermediate compression steps which bring down the computation time scaling with system size ddd from O(d8)\mathcal{O}(d^8)O(d8) to O(d4)\mathcal{O}(d^4)O(d4), as well as significantly lowering the required memory. To illustrate the power of this method, we apply it to the problem of dispersive qubit readout in circuit QED, which was previously out-of-reach numerically. The full treatment of the measurement resonator, which requires a large system space, combined with the long simulation times precipitated by the separation of timescales between the measurement drive and the environment dissipation, is now possible. The algorithm we introduce not only allows for capturing non-Markovian dynamics in large open quantum systems, but also further extends all the existing capabilities of process tensors, for example in quantum optimal control, or in computation of multi-time correlations or of steady states, to more complex systems with tens of levels.
Process tensors in matrix product operator representation (PT-MPOs) are a powerful tool to calculate the temporal evolution and multi-time correlations of open quantum systems. While much progress has been made in making the calculation of process tensors for larger system dimensions possible, the numerical cost of the subsequent propagation of the system typically scales as O(d6)\mathcal{O}(d^6)O(d6), which renders PT-MPO methods prohibitively expensive for system dimensions above several dozens. Here, we show how PT-MPO methods can be used efficiently when only some of the system states couple to the environment, and how combination with a Taylor expansion method allows for a reduction of the numerical complexity down to O(d3)\mathcal{O}(d^3)O(d3). We show that these methods enable efficient simulations of systems with several hundreds of states. This is particularly relevant for solid-state cavity-QED systems with multiple modes, or when calculating frequency-filtered correlation functions by coupling sensor systems to the system of interest.
In the path integral formulation of the evolution of an open quantum system coupled to a Gaussian, noninteracting environment, the dynamical contribution of the latter is encoded in an object called the influence functional. Here, we relate the influence functional to the process tensor-a more general representation of a quantum stochastic process-describing the evolution. Then, we use this connection to motivate a tensor network algorithm for the simulation of multitime correlations in open systems, building on recent work where the influence functional is represented in terms of time evolving matrix product operators. By exploiting the symmetries of the influence functional, we are able to use our algorithm to achieve orders-of-magnitude improvement in the efficiency of the resulting numerical simulation. Our improved algorithm is then applied to compute exact phonon emission spectra for the spin-boson model with strong coupling, demonstrating a significant divergence from spectra derived under commonly used assumptions of memorylessness.
Approaching the long-time dynamics of non-Markovian open quantum systems presents a challenging task if the bath is strongly coupled. Recent proposals address this problem through a representation of the so-called process tensor in terms of a tensor network. We show that for Gaussian environments highly efficient contraction to a matrix product operator (MPO) form can be achieved with infinite MPO evolution methods, leading to significant computational speed-up over existing proposals. The result structurally resembles open system evolution with carefully designed auxiliary degrees of freedom, as in hierarchical or pseudomode methods. Here, however, these degrees of freedom are generated automatically by the MPO evolution algorithm. Moreover, the semigroup form of the resulting propagator enables us to explore steady-state physics, such as phase transitions.
Dynamics of open quantum systems with structured reservoirs can often be simulated efficiently with tensor network influence functionals. The standard variants of the time-evolving matrix product operator (TEMPO) method are applicable when the systems is coupled to Gaussian bosonic baths via hermitian coupling operators that mutually commute. In this work we introduce a generalization to cases where the system is coupled to a single reservoir through multiple non-commuting operators, representing the most general form of linear system-bath coupling. We construct a Gaussian influence functional that properly handles Trotter errors arising from a finite evolution time step, thus ensuring convergence for long evolution times. Based on this result, the uniform TEMPO scheme can be employed to obtain a matrix product operator form of the influence functional, enabling efficient simulations of the real-time dynamics of the open system. As a demonstration, we simulate the time evolution of driven two-level emitters coupled to a bosonic lattice at different lattice sites.
Problems in the field of open quantum systems often involve an environment that strongly influences the dynamics of excited states. Here we present a numerical method to model optical spectra of non-Markovian open quantum systems. The method employs a process tensor framework to efficiently compute multitime correlations in a numerically exact way. To demonstrate the efficacy of our method, we compare 2D electronic spectroscopy simulations produced through our method to Markovian master equation simulations in three different system-bath coupling regimes.