Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Non-markovian quantum brownian motion.

Nicholas Werren

Published May 19, 2020• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We develop a non-Markovian extension to the caldeira-leggett master equation for quantum Brownian motion by using the timescale of the bath as a small parameter around which to perform a perturbative expansion. This framework allows us to deal directly with the time non-locality of the non-Markovian regime. We derive an exact description of the evolution of the reduced density matrix and obtain a new quantum master equa- tion with non-Markovian corrections added perturbatively to the standard Lindblad form. The resulting simulations show new dynamics and a strong deviation from Markovian behaviour. We observe that quantum coherences survive far longer than in the Marko- vian limit. In particular, when the system is fully non-Markovian, quantum phenomena experience a form of decoherence that behaves functionally like an inverse-power law. These results may have important implications in quantum technologies and biology as they suggest environments can be engineered to support long-lived quantum coherence.

DOI
10.15126/thesis.00856962

Related papers

Master equation for non-Markovian quantum Brownian motion: The emergence of lateral coherences

Sapphire Lally, Nicholas Werren, Jim Al-Khalili +1 more

Understanding the behavior of a quantum system coupled to its environment is of fundamental interest in the general field of quantum technologies. It also has important repercussions on foundational problems in physics, such as the process of decoherence and the so-called quantum measurement problem. There have been many approaches to explore Markovian and non-Markovian dynamics within the framework of open quantum systems, but the richness of the ensuing dynamics is still not fully understood. In this paper we develop a non-Markovian extension of the standard Caldeira-Leggett model, based on expanding the dynamics of the reduced system at high temperature in inverse powers of the high-frequency cutoff of the Ohmic spectral density of the environment and derive a non-Markovian master equation for the reduced density matrix for the case of a general potential. We also obtain a fully analytical solution in the free particle case. While the short-time behavior of this solution does not diverge substantially from the Markovian behavior, at intermediate times we find a resurgence of coherence, which we name lateral coherence. We identify this with a corresponding transient negative entropy production rate, which is understood to be characteristic of non-Markovian dynamics. We also analyze the positivity of the reduced density matrix and derive the corresponding Fokker-Planck equation in the classical limit.

arXiv:1907.05874•Physical Review A•Jan 18, 2022•6 citations

Dissipation in open quantum systems

Luca Ferialdi

Caldeira and Leggett (CL) in a seminal paper derived a master equation describing Markovian Quantum Brownian motion. Such an equation suffered of not being completely positive, and many efforts have been made to solve this issue. We show that, when a careful mathematical analysis is performed, the model considered by CL leads to a non dissipative master equation. We argue that the correct way to understand the master equation derived in the CL regime is to consider it non-Markovian. Moreover, we show that if one wants to provide a microscopic description of Quantum Brownian motion one always needs to consider a non-Markovian dynamics. We conclude that dissipation is a genuinely non-Markovian feature.

•Jan 18, 2017•0 citations

Dissipation in the Caldeira-Leggett model

Luca Ferialdi

Caldeira and Leggett (CL), in a seminal paper, derived a master equation describing Markovian quantum Brownian motion. Such an equation suffered from not being completely positive, and many efforts have been made to solve this issue. We show that when a careful mathematical analysis is performed, the model considered by CL leads to a nondissipative master equation. We argue that the correct way to understand the master equation derived in the CL regime is to consider it non-Markovian. Moreover, we show that if one wants to provide a microscopic description of quantum Brownian motion with the CL model, one always needs to consider a non-Markovian dynamics. We conclude that dissipation is a genuinely non-Markovian feature.

arXiv:1701.05024•Physical Review A•May 11, 2017•36 citations

Controlling the non-Markovianity of quantum Brownian motion

Guglielmo Pellitteri, Vittorio Giovannetti, Vasco Cavina

We analyze the exact dynamics of a generalized quantum Brownian motion model, employing Gaussian master equation methods. We demonstrate that, by modulating the relative weights of specific interaction channels, we can control the degree of non-Markovianity of the system, and induce a transition from non-Markovian to Markovian regimes. The non-Markovianity of the evolution is formally characterized by leveraging the Gorini--Kossakowski--Sudarshan--Lindblad theorem and by employing quantitative measures of information backflow. Finally, we clarify the physical mechanism behind the phenomenology of this model, thereby providing a systematic platform for environment engineering through the strategic tuning of dissipation channels.

quant-pharXiv:2606.30730•Jul 1, 2026•0 citations

Simulating Non-Markovian Dynamics in Open Quantum Systems

Meng Xu, Vasilii Vadimov, J. T. Stockburger +1 more

Recent advances in quantum technologies and related experiments have created a need for highly accurate, versatile, and computationally efficient simulation techniques for the dynamics of open quantum systems. Long-lived correlation effects (non-Markovianity), system-environment hybridization, and the necessity for accuracy beyond the Born-Markov approximation form particular challenges. Approaches to meet these challenges have been introduced, originating from different fields, such as hierarchical equations of motion, Lindblad-pseudomode formulas, chain-mapping approaches, quantum Brownian motion master equations, stochastic unravelings, and refined quantum master equations. This diversity, while indicative of the field's relevance, has inadvertently led to a fragmentation that hinders cohesive advances and their effective cross-community application to current problems for complex systems. How are different approaches related to each other? What are their strengths and limitations? Here we give a systematic overview and concise discussion addressing these questions. We make use of a unified framework which very conveniently allows to link different schemes and, this way, may also catalyze further progress. In line with the state of the art, this framework is formulated not in a fully reduced space of the system but in an extended state space which in a minimal fashion includes effective reservoir modes. This in turn offers a comprehensive understanding of existing methods, elucidating their physical interpretations, interconnections, and applicability.

quant-pharXiv:2601.02160•Reviews of Modern Physics•Jan 6, 2026•11 citations

Asymptotic non-Markovianity

Giuseppe Petrillo, Gianpaolo Torre, Fabrizio Illuminati

We investigate the asymptotic dynamics of exact quantum Brownian motion. We find that non-Markovianity can persist in the long-time limit, and that in general the asymptotic behaviour depends strongly on the system-environment coupling and the spectral density of the bath.

arXiv:1609.00917•Sep 4, 2016•2 citations
We develop a non-Markovian extension to the caldeira-leggett master equation for quantum Brownian motion by using the timescale of the bath as a small parameter around which to perform a perturbative expansion. This framework allows us to deal directly with the time non-locality of the non-Markovian regime. We derive an exact description of the evolution of the reduced density matrix and obtain a new quantum master equa- tion with non-Markovian corrections added perturbatively to the standard Lindblad form. The resulting simulations show new dynamics and a strong deviation from Markovian behaviour. We observe that quantum coherences survive far longer than in the Marko- vian limit. In particular, when the system is fully non-Markovian, quantum phenomena experience a form of decoherence that behaves functionally like an inverse-power law. These results may have important implications in quantum technologies and biology as they suggest environments can be engineered to support long-lived quantum coherence.
Understanding the behavior of a quantum system coupled to its environment is of fundamental interest in the general field of quantum technologies. It also has important repercussions on foundational problems in physics, such as the process of decoherence and the so-called quantum measurement problem. There have been many approaches to explore Markovian and non-Markovian dynamics within the framework of open quantum systems, but the richness of the ensuing dynamics is still not fully understood. In this paper we develop a non-Markovian extension of the standard Caldeira-Leggett model, based on expanding the dynamics of the reduced system at high temperature in inverse powers of the high-frequency cutoff of the Ohmic spectral density of the environment and derive a non-Markovian master equation for the reduced density matrix for the case of a general potential. We also obtain a fully analytical solution in the free particle case. While the short-time behavior of this solution does not diverge substantially from the Markovian behavior, at intermediate times we find a resurgence of coherence, which we name lateral coherence. We identify this with a corresponding transient negative entropy production rate, which is understood to be characteristic of non-Markovian dynamics. We also analyze the positivity of the reduced density matrix and derive the corresponding Fokker-Planck equation in the classical limit.
Caldeira and Leggett (CL) in a seminal paper derived a master equation describing Markovian Quantum Brownian motion. Such an equation suffered of not being completely positive, and many efforts have been made to solve this issue. We show that, when a careful mathematical analysis is performed, the model considered by CL leads to a non dissipative master equation. We argue that the correct way to understand the master equation derived in the CL regime is to consider it non-Markovian. Moreover, we show that if one wants to provide a microscopic description of Quantum Brownian motion one always needs to consider a non-Markovian dynamics. We conclude that dissipation is a genuinely non-Markovian feature.
Caldeira and Leggett (CL), in a seminal paper, derived a master equation describing Markovian quantum Brownian motion. Such an equation suffered from not being completely positive, and many efforts have been made to solve this issue. We show that when a careful mathematical analysis is performed, the model considered by CL leads to a nondissipative master equation. We argue that the correct way to understand the master equation derived in the CL regime is to consider it non-Markovian. Moreover, we show that if one wants to provide a microscopic description of quantum Brownian motion with the CL model, one always needs to consider a non-Markovian dynamics. We conclude that dissipation is a genuinely non-Markovian feature.
We analyze the exact dynamics of a generalized quantum Brownian motion model, employing Gaussian master equation methods. We demonstrate that, by modulating the relative weights of specific interaction channels, we can control the degree of non-Markovianity of the system, and induce a transition from non-Markovian to Markovian regimes. The non-Markovianity of the evolution is formally characterized by leveraging the Gorini--Kossakowski--Sudarshan--Lindblad theorem and by employing quantitative measures of information backflow. Finally, we clarify the physical mechanism behind the phenomenology of this model, thereby providing a systematic platform for environment engineering through the strategic tuning of dissipation channels.
Recent advances in quantum technologies and related experiments have created a need for highly accurate, versatile, and computationally efficient simulation techniques for the dynamics of open quantum systems. Long-lived correlation effects (non-Markovianity), system-environment hybridization, and the necessity for accuracy beyond the Born-Markov approximation form particular challenges. Approaches to meet these challenges have been introduced, originating from different fields, such as hierarchical equations of motion, Lindblad-pseudomode formulas, chain-mapping approaches, quantum Brownian motion master equations, stochastic unravelings, and refined quantum master equations. This diversity, while indicative of the field's relevance, has inadvertently led to a fragmentation that hinders cohesive advances and their effective cross-community application to current problems for complex systems. How are different approaches related to each other? What are their strengths and limitations? Here we give a systematic overview and concise discussion addressing these questions. We make use of a unified framework which very conveniently allows to link different schemes and, this way, may also catalyze further progress. In line with the state of the art, this framework is formulated not in a fully reduced space of the system but in an extended state space which in a minimal fashion includes effective reservoir modes. This in turn offers a comprehensive understanding of existing methods, elucidating their physical interpretations, interconnections, and applicability.