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Physical Review A

Quantum Langevin equation

G. W. Ford, John T. Lewis, Robert F. O’Connell

Published Jun 1, 1988• 669 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The macroscopic description of a quantum particle with passive dissipation and moving in an arbitrary external potential is formulated in terms of the generalized Langevin equation. The coupling with the heat bath corresponds to two terms: a mean force characterized by a memory function \ensuremath{\mu}(t) and an operator-valued random force. Explicit expressions are given for the correlation and commutator of the random force. The random force is never Markovian. It is shown that \ensuremath{\mu}\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}(z), the Fourier transform of the memory function, must be a positive real function, analytic in the upper half-plane and with Re[\ensuremath{\mu}\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}(\ensuremath{\omega}+i${0}^{+}$)] a positive distribution on the real axis. This form is then derived for the independent-oscillator model of a heat bath. It is shown that the most general quantum Langevin equation can be realized by this simple model. A critical comparison is made with a number of other models that have appeared in the literature.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.37.4419

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The macroscopic description of a quantum particle with passive dissipation and moving in an arbitrary external potential is formulated in terms of the generalized Langevin equation. The coupling with the heat bath corresponds to two terms: a mean force characterized by a memory function \ensuremath{\mu}(t) and an operator-valued random force. Explicit expressions are given for the correlation and commutator of the random force. The random force is never Markovian. It is shown that \ensuremath{\mu}\ifmmode \tilde{}\else ~{}\fi{}(z), the Fourier transform of the memory function, must be a positive real function, analytic in the upper half-plane and with Re[\ensuremath{\mu}\ifmmode \tilde{}\else ~{}\fi{}(\ensuremath{\omega}+i0+{0}^{+}0+)] a positive distribution on the real axis. This form is then derived for the independent-oscillator model of a heat bath. It is shown that the most general quantum Langevin equation can be realized by this simple model. A critical comparison is made with a number of other models that have appeared in the literature.
We obtain the quantum Langevin equation (QLE) of a charged quantum particle moving in a harmonic potential in the presence of a uniform external magnetic field and linearly coupled to a quantum heat bath through momentum variables. The bath is modeled as a collection of independent quantum harmonic oscillators. The QLE involves a random force which does not depend on the magnetic field, and a quantum-generalized classical Lorentz force. These features are also present in the QLE for the case of particle-bath coupling through coordinate variables. However, significant differences are also observed. For example, the mean force in the QLE is characterized by a memory function that depends explicitly on the magnetic field. The random force has a modified form with correlation and commutator different from those in the case of coordinate-coordinate coupling. Moreover, the coupling constants, in addition to appearing in the random force and in the mean force, also renormalize the inertial term and the harmonic potential term in the QLE.
Quantum diffusion equations featuring explicitly time-dependent transport coefficients are derived from generalized non-Markovian Langevin equations. Generalized fluctuation-dissipation relations and analytic expressions for calculating the friction and diffusion coefficients in nuclear processes are obtained. The asymptotic behavior of the transport coefficients and correlation functions for a damped harmonic oscillator that is linearly coupled in momentum to a heat bath is studied. The coupling to a heat bath in momentum is responsible for the appearance of the diffusion coefficient in coordinate. The problem of regression of correlations in quantum dissipative systems is analyzed.
Abstract This review provides a brief and quick introduction to the quantum Langevin equation for an oscillator, while focusing on the steady-state thermodynamic aspects. A derivation of the quantum Langevin equation is carefully outlined based on the microscopic model of the heat bath as a collection of a large number of independent quantum oscillators, the so-called independent-oscillator model. This is followed by a discussion on the relevant ‘weak-coupling’ limit. In the steady state, we analyze the quantum counterpart of energy equipartition theorem which has generated a considerable amount of interest in recent literature. The free energy, entropy, specific heat, and third law of thermodynamics are discussed for one-dimensional quantum Brownian motion in a harmonic well. Following this, we explore some aspects of dissipative diamagnetism in the context of quantum Brownian oscillators, emphasizing upon the role of confining potentials and also upon the environment-induced classical-quantum crossover. We discuss situations where the system-bath coupling is via the momentum variables by focusing on a gauge-invariant model of momentum-momentum coupling in the presence of a vector potential; for this problem, we derive the quantum Langevin equation and discuss quantum thermodynamic functions. Finally, the topic of fluctuation theorems is discussed (albeit, briefly) in the context of classical and quantum cyclotron motion of a particle coupled to a heat bath.
In a recent paper, Ford, Lewis, and O'Connell [Phys. Rev. A 37, 4419 (1988)] considered a charged quantum particle moving in an arbitrary potential and linearly coupled to a heat bath, and they showed that the macroscopic equation describing the time development of the particle motion is in the form of a quantum generalized Langevin equation. We generalize these results to include the presence of an external magnetic field. We find that the magnetic field manifests itself in the presence of an additional term in the Langevin equation, which is the quantum generalization of the Lorentz force, but the magnetic field does not affect the memory function nor the random force appearing in the quantum Langevin equation. It follows that the noise-noise autocorrelation function, as well as the nonequal time commutator of the noise, is the same as that in the absence of a magnetic field. The case of a blackbody radiation heat bath is shown to be easily analyzed as a special case of our general formalism.
The reduced dynamics of a quantum system interacting with a linear heat bath finds an exact representation in terms of a stochastic Schrödinger equation. All memory effects of the reservoir are transformed into noise correlations and mean-field friction. The classical limit of the resulting stochastic dynamics is shown to be a generalized Langevin equation, and conventional quantum state diffusion is recovered in the Born-Markov approximation. The non-Markovian exact dynamics, valid at arbitrary temperature and damping strength, is exemplified by an application to the dissipative two-state system.