Dissipative processes in nonequilibrium many-body systems are fundamentally different than their equilibrium counterparts. Such processes are of great importance for the understanding of relaxation in single-molecule devices. As a detailed case study, we investigate here a generic spin-fermion model, where a two-level system couples to two metallic leads with different chemical potentials. We present results for the spin relaxation rate in the nonadiabatic limit for an arbitrary coupling to the leads using both analytical and exact numerical methods. The nonequilibrium dynamics is reflected by an exponential relaxation at long times and via complex phase shifts, leading in some cases to an ``antiorthogonality'' effect. In the limit of strong system-lead coupling at zero temperature we demonstrate the onset of a Marcus-like Gaussian decay with voltage difference activation. This is analogous to the equilibrium spin-boson model, where at strong coupling and high temperatures, the spin excitation rate manifests temperature activated Gaussian behavior. We find that there is no simple linear relationship between the role of the temperature in the bosonic system and a voltage drop in a nonequilibrium electronic case. The two models also differ by the orthogonality-catastrophe factor existing in a fermionic system, which modifies the resulting line shapes. Implications for current characteristics are discussed. We demonstrate the violation of pairwise Coulomb gas behavior for strong coupling to the leads. The results presented in this paper form the basis of an exact, nonperturbative description of steady-state quantum dissipative systems.
The dynamics of many-body fermionic systems are important in problems ranging from catalytic reactions at electrochemical surfaces to transport through nanojunctions and offer a prime target for quantum computing applications. Here, we derive the set of conditions under which fermionic operators can be exactly replaced by bosonic operators that render the problem amenable to a large toolbox of dynamical methods while still capturing the correct dynamics of n-body operators. Importantly, our analysis offers a simple guide on how one can exploit these simple maps to calculate nonequilibrium and equilibrium single- and multi-time correlation functions essential in describing transport and spectroscopy. We use this to rigorously analyze and delineate the applicability of simple yet effective Cartesian maps that have been shown to correctly capture the correct fermionic dynamics in select models of nanoscopic transport. We illustrate our analytical results with exact simulations of the resonant level model. Our work provides new insights as to when one can leverage the simplicity of bosonic maps to simulate the dynamics of many-electron systems, especially those where an atomistic representation of nuclear interactions becomes essential.
Starting from the Friedberg-TD Lee Hamiltonian describing a coexisting and dynamically interacting many-particle binary boson-fermion gas mixture with a coupling $(\ensuremath{\lambda})$-dependent gap $2\ensuremath{\Delta}(\ensuremath{\lambda})$ in the boson dispersion relation for the
s-wave Cooper or BCS model interaction, we deduce several observed characteristic features of high-temperature superconductors at the simplest level. Analytic expressions for both the unpaired-fermion and boson number densities, as well for the fermion chemical potential $\ensuremath{\mu}(\ensuremath{\lambda},T)$, all of which vary with the degree of bosonization and with temperature
T, are derived in detail using two-time, finite-temperature Green function techniques. Simple implicit formulas are then obtained for both two and three dimensions for the pseudogap
T∗ and Bose-Einstein condensation
Tc temperatures in terms of $\ensuremath{\mu}(\ensuremath{\lambda},T)$ and $2\ensuremath{\Delta}(\ensuremath{\lambda})$. In particular, even at the
s-wave level we find a self-consistent description of the generic phase diagram observed in cuprates, including the appearance of a pseudogap and a dome-shaped
Tc vs doping behavior both of which hinge on the gapped boson spectrum.