Equation of motion of a driven spin coupled to a bath

Shaul Mukamel, Irwin Oppenheim, John Ross

We derive reduced equations of motion for simple quantum systems which are strongly driven by an external field and are modulated stochastically by a coupling to a bath. In the derivation we make use of the cumulant-expansion method of Kubo using two different time-ordering prescriptions. We demonstrate how the choice of the ordering prescription is related to the statistical properties of the bath, once the cumulant expansion is truncated. Our equations of motion are valid for arbitrary time scale for the motions of the bath relative to those of the system, and they change smoothly from the static to the Markov (motional narrowing) limit. As examples, we consider the problems of a randomly modulated and driven harmonic oscillator and a modulated and damped two-level system. In the Markovian limit both ordering prescriptions yield Bloch-type equations of motion; in general, however, the driving and modulation interfere and the different statistical properties of the bath, as determined by the two truncated ordering prescriptions, lead to different results.

Wen-Jian Yu, Bao-Ming Xu, Lin Li +3 more

Alfred G. Redfield

A general procedure is given for finding the equation of motion of the density matrix of a system in contact with a thermal bath, as for example a nuclear spin system weakly coupled to a crystal lattice. The thermal bath is treated both classically and quantum mechanically, and the theory is similar to, and a generalization of, conventional theories of time proportional transition probabilities. Relaxation of the system by the thermal bath is expressed by a linear matrix operator, and it is stressed that elements of this operator can be regarded as secular or nonsecular perturbations on the equation of motion and can be treated accordingly. When the motion of the system is slow compared to that of the thermal bath, the equation of motion can be expressed in an operator form which is independent of representation. If the system has a time-dependent Hamiltonian which varies slowly compared to the motion of the thermal bath, the same equation of motion is obeyed and the system is relaxed by the bath toward a Boltzmann distribution with respect to its instantaneous Hamiltonian. If the time variation of the Hamiltonian is more rapid, higher order corrections to the equation of motion must be applied. The theory is applied to spin-lattice relaxation of a coupled nuclear spin system in a metal, for arbitrary externally applied fixed magnetic field.

B. Linet

Yu-Kang Zhao, Meisheng Zhao, Zeng‐Bing Chen