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arXiv:2603.23432

Tensor network influence functionals for open quantum systems with general Gaussian bosonic baths

Valentin Link

quant-phSubmitted Mar 24, 2026• Announced Mar 25, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

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.

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The TEMPO network can be made independent of the system size

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The time-evolving matrix product operator (TEMPO) method efficiently simulates non-Markovian open quantum system dynamics by contracting a two-dimensional tensor network representing the time-discretized Feynman-Vernon influence functional. The standard form of this network has an unfavorable scaling with the size of the system. We show that, within the usual second-order time-step error, the dimensions of all internal network bonds can be reduced to $(2m+1)(m+1)$, where $m$ is the number of independent coupling channels. This dimension does not depend on the number of distinct eigenvalues of the coupling operators. The system size only enters in the final boundary layer of the network, making large system sizes accessible to TEMPO methods. This structure was discovered by Claude Opus 5.5 during guided algorithm development.

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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.

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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.
The time-evolving matrix product operator (TEMPO) method is a powerful tool for simulating open system quantum dynamics. Typically, it is used in problems with diagonal system-bath coupling, where analytical expressions for discretized influence functional are available. In this work, we aim to address issues related to off-diagonal coupling by extending the TEMPO algorithm to accommodate arbitrary basis sets. The proposed approach is based on computing the derivative of the discretized path integral expression of a generalized influence functional when increasing one time step, which yields an equation of motion valid for non-diagonal basis set and arbitrary number of non-commuting baths. The generalized influence functional is then obtained by integrating the resulting differential equation. Applicability of the the new method is then tested by simulating one- and two- qubit systems coupled to both Z- and X-type baths.
The time-evolving matrix product operator (TEMPO) method has proven to be a powerful method to study the long-time dynamics of bosonic impurity problems where a small system is linearly coupled to a noninteracting bosonic bath. However, current developments of TEMPO have mostly focused on the case of diagonal system-bath coupling, i.e., $\sum_k \Aop(V_k \bdop_k + \hc)$, with $\Aop$ a Hermitian operator of the system. Based on the process tensor framework, we extend TEMPO to the more general case of off-diagonal system-bath coupling in the form $\sum_k (V_k\Aop\bdop_k + \hc)$, where $\Aop$ could be non-Hermitian. As applications, we study the real-time dynamics of a spin that is coupled to a sub-ohmic bath via the Jaynes-Cummings-type system-bath coupling and compare it against the standard spin-boson model, where we show that the commonly used rotating-wave approximation could be very poor for this bath. We also study the imaginary-time evolution of a bosonic impurity with nonzero on-site interaction that is coupled to a sub-ohmic bath, to illustrate the flexibility of our method. Our method provides a unified framework to understand different variants of TEMPO, and is a promising building block for an impurity solver in the bosonic dynamical mean field theory for the normal phase with a scalar hybridization function.
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.
The time-evolving matrix product operator (TEMPO) method efficiently simulates non-Markovian open quantum system dynamics by contracting a two-dimensional tensor network representing the time-discretized Feynman-Vernon influence functional. The standard form of this network has an unfavorable scaling with the size of the system. We show that, within the usual second-order time-step error, the dimensions of all internal network bonds can be reduced to (2m+1)(m+1)(2m+1)(m+1)(2m+1)(m+1), where mmm is the number of independent coupling channels. This dimension does not depend on the number of distinct eigenvalues of the coupling operators. The system size only enters in the final boundary layer of the network, making large system sizes accessible to TEMPO methods. This structure was discovered by Claude Opus 5.5 during guided algorithm development.
The nonequilibrium effects of dissipation and drive play a key role in an immense variety of nanoscale and mesoscale quantum systems. To understand the behaviour of open quantum systems, we need accurate methods that capture the influence of the environment on the system, while managing the exponentially large Hilbert space required to describe the system. Tensor network algorithms offer an efficient way to approach this challenge. In this thesis, we develop and apply tensor network techniques to study the dynamics and steady states of various open quantum systems. The first part of the thesis focuses on the driven dissipative many body physics in coupled cavity arrays described by Born-Markov master equations. We extend transfer matrix product operator methods to Liouvillian dynamics, and utilize them to compute dynamical correlation functions and fluorescence spectrum of an infinite coupled cavity array in 1D. We also investigate thermalization, and observe the emergence of a quasi-thermal steady state with a negative effective temperature. In another study, we use infinite projected entangled pair state (iPEPS) methods to compute steady states of coupled cavity lattices in 2D. We find that a straightforward adaptation of iPEPS to Liouvillian dynamics is unstable, contradicting a recent publication in the field. The second part investigates more general systems involving strong couplings and structured environments that induce non-Markovian dynamics. We develop a powerful time-evolving matrix product operator (TEMPO) algorithm that builds on Feynman-Vernon influence functional formalism, and uses matrix product states (MPS) to represent the temporal non-Markovian correlations efficiently. We apply TEMPO to study the localization phase transition of the spin-boson model and the dynamics of two spatially separated two-level systems coupled to a common environment. Finally, we propose the Toblerone TEMPO algorithm, which extends TEMPO to many-body systems interacting with general bosonic environments.
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.