Open quantum systems, where quantum dynamics is influenced by (non-)Markovian environments, have attracted increasing attention due to their rich physical properties. Understanding phenomena such as non-equilibrium phases, anomalous thermalization, and dissipative state preparation requires the knowledge of the low-lying eigenvalues and eigenstates of the Lindbladian. In this thesis, we introduce a framework that systematically computes not only steady states but also low-lying excited states in large, dissipative, interacting quantum many-body systems. The framework is based on tensor-network methods and utilizes recent advances in complex-time Krylov spaces. Extending these ideas to the challenging non-Hermitian eigenvalue problem ubiquitous in open quantum systems enables simulations at unprecedented Hilbert space dimensions. We employ the framework to analyze a dissipative state preparation protocol for Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) on optical lattices. Analytical and numerical studies allow us to characterize the steady state and perform a finite-size scaling of the dissipative gap, uncovering strong evidence for non-linear hydrodynamics described by the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang universality class. Furthermore, we show analytically that the dissipative state preparation can be substantially accelerated via the quantum Mpemba effect. Our approach exploits weak symmetries to analytically identify a class of simple, experimentally realizable states that converge exponentially faster to the steady state than typical random initializations. Overall, this work establishes a versatile framework for the spectral analysis of generic open quantum many-body systems, enabling the analysis of complex collective phenomena and additionally paving the way toward faster dissipative preparation of highly entangled states in analog quantum simulators.
Open quantum systems, where quantum dynamics is influenced by (non-)Markovian environments, have attracted increasing attention due to their rich physical properties. Understanding phenomena such as non-equilibrium phases, anomalous thermalization, and dissipative state preparation requires the knowledge of the low-lying eigenvalues and eigenstates of the Lindbladian. In this thesis, we introduce a framework that systematically computes not only steady states but also low-lying excited states in large, dissipative, interacting quantum many-body systems. The framework is based on tensor-network methods and utilizes recent advances in complex-time Krylov spaces. Extending these ideas to the challenging non-Hermitian eigenvalue problem ubiquitous in open quantum systems enables simulations at unprecedented Hilbert space dimensions. We employ the framework to analyze a dissipative state preparation protocol for Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) on optical lattices. Analytical and numerical studies allow us to characterize the steady state and perform a finite-size scaling of the dissipative gap, uncovering strong evidence for non-linear hydrodynamics described by the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang universality class. Furthermore, we show analytically that the dissipative state preparation can be substantially accelerated via the quantum Mpemba effect. Our approach exploits weak symmetries to analytically identify a class of simple, experimentally realizable states that converge exponentially faster to the steady state than typical random initializations. Overall, this work establishes a versatile framework for the spectral analysis of generic open quantum many-body systems, enabling the analysis of complex collective phenomena and additionally paving the way toward faster dissipative preparation of highly entangled states in analog quantum simulators.
Quantum systems coupled to (non-) Markovian environments attract increasing attention due to their peculiar physical properties. Exciting prospects such as unconventional nonequilibrium phases beyond the Mermin-Wagner limit or dissipative state preparation demand a systematic analysis of quantum many-body phases out of equilibrium. Akin to the equilibrium case, this requires the computation of the low-lying eigenstates of Lindbladians, a problem challenging conventional approaches for simulating quantum many-body systems. Here, we undertake a first step to overcome this limitation and introduce a tensor-network-based framework to systematically compute not only steady states, but also low-lying excited states for large, driven quantum many-body systems. Our framework is based on recent advances utilizing complex-time Krylov spaces, and we leverage these ideas to create a toolbox tailored to solve the challenging non-Hermitian eigenvalue problem ubiquitous in open quantum systems. With an example of the interacting Bose-Hubbard model driven by dissipation-assisted hopping, we demonstrate the high efficiency and accuracy. From a reliable finite-size-scaling analysis of the spectral gap, we find strong evidence for nonlinear hydrodynamic behavior consistent with Kardar-Parisi-Zhang-type superdiffusive relaxation and establish the existence of exponentially accelerated, anomalous relaxation. This method unlocks the capability of spectral analysis of generic open quantum many-body systems suitable also for non-Markovian environments.
The nonequilibrium effects of dissipation and drive play a key role in an immense variety of nanoscale and mesoscale quantum systems. To understand the behaviour of open quantum systems, we need accurate methods that capture the influence of the environment on the system, while managing the exponentially large Hilbert space required to describe the system. Tensor network algorithms offer an efficient way to approach this challenge. In this thesis, we develop and apply tensor network techniques to study the dynamics and steady states of various open quantum systems. The first part of the thesis focuses on the driven dissipative many body physics in coupled cavity arrays described by Born-Markov master equations. We extend transfer matrix product operator methods to Liouvillian dynamics, and utilize them to compute dynamical correlation functions and fluorescence spectrum of an infinite coupled cavity array in 1D. We also investigate thermalization, and observe the emergence of a quasi-thermal steady state with a negative effective temperature. In another study, we use infinite projected entangled pair state (iPEPS) methods to compute steady states of coupled cavity lattices in 2D. We find that a straightforward adaptation of iPEPS to Liouvillian dynamics is unstable, contradicting a recent publication in the field. The second part investigates more general systems involving strong couplings and structured environments that induce non-Markovian dynamics. We develop a powerful time-evolving matrix product operator (TEMPO) algorithm that builds on Feynman-Vernon influence functional formalism, and uses matrix product states (MPS) to represent the temporal non-Markovian correlations efficiently. We apply TEMPO to study the localization phase transition of the spin-boson model and the dynamics of two spatially separated two-level systems coupled to a common environment. Finally, we propose the Toblerone TEMPO algorithm, which extends TEMPO to many-body systems interacting with general bosonic environments.
This thesis investigates the physics of strongly interacting driven–dissipative bosonic systems in one dimension, combining field-theoretical approaches with various numerical simulation techniques. While weakly interacting condensates are accurately described by a generalized Gross–Pitaevskii equation, the strongly correlated regime of the same microscopic models remains far less understood, particularly out of equilibrium. This thesis aims to bridge this gap by developing controlled quantum-many-body simulations for open systems governed by Lindblad dynamics, as well as investigating the corresponding action under the functional renormalization group.In the first part, we formulate a field-theoretical description of driven–dissipative one-dimen-sional bosons using the Schwinger–Keldysh formalism and the functional renormalization group (fRG).Two models are analyzed: (i) a driven-dissipative condensate whose phase dynamics is expected to exhibit emergent Kardar–Parisi–Zhang (KPZ) behavior, for which we search the emergent KPZ fixed point starting from the bosonic field theory; and (ii) a two-photon–driven system with two-body losses realizing dissipative cat qubits. For the latter, we determine the phase diagram and identify a continuous phase transition between symmetry-broken and symmetric phases, which motivates the construction of an fRG Ansatz capturing this critical behavior.The second part of the thesis focuses on the open system dynamics using exact diagonalization and tensor-network methods. For the Bose–Hubbard model with incoherent pump and loss, we characterize the steady state, and study spectral functions across the full parameter space. We show that key ground-state features are absent under dissipation, while the high-temperature unitary spectrum captures aspects of the open-system dynamics. In an extended model with additional two-body and non-local losses, we establish the semi-classical emergence of KPZ scaling and extract the KPZ dynamical exponent from the spectral function. A finite-size analysis exposes the current limitations of the tensor-network methods for reaching the high occupancy regime in the full quantum evolution.Finally, a last project develops a two-loop perturbative RG analysis of a spin-1 chain at its continuous symmetry breaking quantum critical point, revealing critical exponents distinct from the Ising universality class.Together, these results advance the understanding of strongly interacting open quantum systems, elucidating their symmetries, effective field theories, and dynamical properties, and outlining key directions for future theoretical and numerical work.
We study generic open quantum systems with Markovian dissipation, focusing on a class of stochastic Liouvillian operators of Lindblad form with independent random dissipation channels (jump operators) and a random Hamiltonian. We perform a thorough numerical study, focusing on global spectral features, the spectral gap, and the steady-state purity and statistics. We establish that all properties follow three different regimes as a function of the dissipation strength, whose boundaries depend on the particular observable. Within each regime, we determine the scaling exponents with the dissipation strength and system size. On the analytical side, we compute the average spectral gap at arbitrary dissipation and provide simple closed-form expressions for the asymptotic values at strong and weak dissipation strength. We also consider spectral correlations in generic complex spectra, such as that of the Liouvillian. We introduce and study, both analytically and numerically, the complex ratio of the nearest-neighbor spacing by next-to-nearest-neighbor spacing. Besides the usual level repulsion, we find that complex spacing ratios have a nontrivial angular dependence which offers a distinct signature of quantum chaos. It distinguishes integrable systems, which support the flat ratio distribution characteristic of Poisson statistics, and chaotic dissipative quantum systems, which conform to Random Matrix Theory statistics. We apply this new signature of quantum chaos to random Liouvillians and boundary-driven dissipative spin-chains. The results of this thesis can help understand the long-time dynamics, steady-state properties, and spectral correlations of generic dissipative systems.
Many physical phenomena, including thermalization in open quantum systems and quantum Gibbs sampling, are modeled by Lindbladians approximating a system weakly coupled to a bath. Understanding the convergence speed of these Lindbladians to their steady states is crucial for bounding algorithmic runtimes and thermalization timescales. We study two such families of processes: one characterizing a repeated-interaction Gibbs sampling algorithm, and another modeling open many-body quantum thermalization. We prove that both converge in polynomial time for several non-commuting systems, including high-temperature local lattices, weakly interacting fermions, and 1D spin chains. These results demonstrate that simple dissipative quantum algorithms can prepare complex Gibbs states and that Lindblad dynamics accurately capture thermal relaxation. Our proofs rely on a novel technical result that extrapolates spectral gap lower bounds from quasi-local Lindbladians to the non-local generators governing these dynamics.
Understanding the fate of many-body quantum physics in the presence of noise is of both practical and fundamental interest. Practically, all quantum systems (especially near-term experiments) are interacting with their environment, and so understanding the role that noise plays is crucial to making predictions of observations. Fundamentally, one can find novel physical phenomena in open systems that exists only out of equilibrium. This motivates trying to get a basic understanding of mixed state phases of matter. This dissertation will be in two parts, linked by the common theme of understanding the dynamics and steady states of open, many-body quantum systems. We will first ask about dissipative state preparation, or thinking about how one can use openness in a quantum system to engineer interesting quantum states. We will present a number of exact solutions for spins, free bosons, and free fermions that have unique properties in the steady state, be they highly entangled or topological in nature. Then, we will discuss their dynamics, and present fundamental limits on the time it takes to prepare highly entangled states under local Markovian channels, and also ways that one can use additional ingredients to evade these bounds. The second part will focus on a novel technique to simulate the dynamics of open spin-1/2 systems whose coupling to the environment will formally make them interacting. This technique relies on encoding the many-body density matrix into a stochastic covariance matrix of the Jordan-Wigner fermions which we show can be sampled from efficiently. We use this technique to uncover rich phenomena outlined in a number of many-body systems, as well as provide certain situations in which the stochastic observables can be analytically re-averaged to get closed form solutions for the entire interacting system.