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Open quantum systems: a comparison of Redfield and Lindblad approaches with exact results

Archak Purkayastha, Manas Kulkarni, Abhishek Dhar

Published Nov 12, 2015• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

We present the Redfield quantum master equation (RQME) description for an open system of non-interacting particles (bosons or fermions) on an arbitrary lattice of N sites in any dimension and connected to multiple reservoirs at different temperatures and chemical potentials. For the N=2 case, we show that RQME gives results which agree with exact analytical results for steady state properties and with exact numerics for time-dependent properties. In comparision, we show that the Lindblad equation approach has a limited domain of validity. These results can be experimentally relevant for cold atoms, cavity QED and far-from-equilibrium quantum dot experiments.

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Exact master equation for an open Jaynes–Cummings system

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A master equation for the Jaynes-Cummings (JC) system interacting with a bosonic reservoir through a conserved quantity is derived analytically without any approximation.The derivation is valid for any initial JC state that has no correlation with the initial reservoir at any temperature and yields a Gorini-Kossakowski-Lindblad-Sudarshan-type master equation with time-dependent coefficients.Several physical quantities of the open JC system are examined and the validity or limit of some of the standard approximations used to derive the master equation is discussed on the basis of the exact results obtained here.

Annals of Physics•Apr 27, 2022•3 citations
We present the Redfield quantum master equation (RQME) description for an open system of non-interacting particles (bosons or fermions) on an arbitrary lattice of N sites in any dimension and connected to multiple reservoirs at different temperatures and chemical potentials. For the N=2 case, we show that RQME gives results which agree with exact analytical results for steady state properties and with exact numerics for time-dependent properties. In comparision, we show that the Lindblad equation approach has a limited domain of validity. These results can be experimentally relevant for cold atoms, cavity QED and far-from-equilibrium quantum dot experiments.
We present the Born-Markov approximated Redfield quantum master equation (RQME) description for an open system of noninteracting particles (bosons or fermions) on an arbitrary lattice of NNN sites in any dimension and weakly connected to multiple reservoirs at different temperatures and chemical potentials. The RQME can be reduced to the Lindblad equation, of various forms, by making further approximations. By studying the N=2N=2N=2 case, we show that RQME gives results which agree with exact analytical results for steady-state properties and with exact numerics for time-dependent properties over a wide range of parameters. In comparison, the Lindblad equations have a limited domain of validity in nonequilibrium. We conclude that it is indeed justified to use microscopically derived full RQME to go beyond the limitations of Lindblad equations in out-of-equilibrium systems. We also derive closed-form analytical results for out-of-equilibrium time dynamics of two-point correlation functions. These results explicitly show the approach to steady state and thermalization. These results are experimentally relevant for cold atoms, cavity QED, and far-from-equilibrium quantum dot experiments.
We develop a method of calculating the nonequilibrium steady state (NESS) of an open quantum system that is weakly coupled to reservoirs in different equilibrium states. We describe the system using a Redfield-type quantum master equation (QME). We decompose the Redfield QME into a Lindblad-type QME and the remaining part R\mathcal{R}R. Regarding the steady state of the Lindblad QME as the unperturbed solution, we perform a perturbative calculation with respect to R\mathcal{R}R to obtain the NESS of the Redfield QME. The NESS thus determined is exact up to the first order in the system-reservoir coupling strength (pump/loss rate), which is the same as the order of validity of the QME. An advantage of the proposed method in numerical computation is its applicability to systems larger than those in methods of directly solving the original Redfield QME. We apply the method to a noninteracting fermion system to obtain an analytical expression of the NESS density matrix. We also numerically demonstrate the method in a nonequilibrium quantum spin chain.
We develop a method of calculating the nonequilibrium steady state (NESS) of an open quantum system that is weakly coupled to reservoirs in different equilibrium states. We describe the system using a Redfield-type quantum master equation (QME). We decompose the Redfield QME into a Lindblad-type QME and the remaining part R\mathcal{R}R. Regarding the steady state of the Lindblad QME as the unperturbed solution, we perform a perturbative calculation with respect to R\mathcal{R}R to obtain the NESS of the Redfield QME. The NESS thus determined is exact up to the first order in the system-reservoir coupling strength (pump/loss rate), which is the same as the order of validity of the QME. An advantage of the proposed method in numerical computation is its applicability to systems larger than those in methods of directly solving the original Redfield QME. We apply the method to a noninteracting fermion system to obtain an analytical expression of the NESS density matrix. We also numerically demonstrate the method in a nonequilibrium quantum spin chain.
Many-body quantum systems present a rich phenomenology which can be significantly altered when they are in contact with an environment. In order to study such setups, a number of approximations are usually performed, either concerning the system, the environment, or both. A typical approach for large quantum interacting systems is to use master equations which are local, Markovian, and in Lindblad form. Here, we present an implementation of the Redfield master equation using matrix product states and operators. We show that this allows us to explore parameter regimes of the many-body quantum system and the environment which could not be probed with previous approaches based on local Lindblad master equations. We also show the validity of our results by comparing with the numerical exact thermofield-based chain-mapping approach.
It is very common in the literature to write a Markovian quantum master equation in Lindblad form to describe a system with multiple degrees of freedom and weakly connected to multiple thermal baths which can, in general, be at different temperatures and chemical potentials. However, the microscopically derived quantum master equation up to leading order in a system-bath coupling is of the so-called Redfield form, which is known to not preserve complete positivity in most cases. Additional approximations to the Redfield equation are required to obtain a Lindblad form. We lay down some fundamental requirements for any further approximations to the Redfield equation, which, if violated, leads to physical inconsistencies such as inaccuracies in the leading order populations and coherences in the energy eigenbasis, violation of thermalization, and violation of local conservation laws at the nonequilibrium steady state. We argue that one or more of these conditions will generically be violated in all the weak system-bath-coupling Lindblad descriptions existing in the literature to our knowledge. As an example, we study the recently derived universal Lindblad equation and use these conditions to show the violation of local conservation laws due to inaccurate coherences but accurate populations in the energy eigenbasis. Finally, we exemplify our analytical results numerically in an interacting open quantum spin system.
A master equation for the Jaynes-Cummings (JC) system interacting with a bosonic reservoir through a conserved quantity is derived analytically without any approximation.The derivation is valid for any initial JC state that has no correlation with the initial reservoir at any temperature and yields a Gorini-Kossakowski-Lindblad-Sudarshan-type master equation with time-dependent coefficients.Several physical quantities of the open JC system are examined and the validity or limit of some of the standard approximations used to derive the master equation is discussed on the basis of the exact results obtained here.