We specifically define the amount of coherence that a specific state holds. We quantify the "quantum character" of qubits by considering their temporal evolution of the coherent character through off-diagonal density matrix elements.
Being the key resource in quantum physics, the proper quantification of coherence is of utmost importance. Amid complex-looking functionals in quantifying coherence, we set forth a simple and easy-to-evaluate approach: principal diagonal difference of coherence (CPDD), which we prove to be non-negative, self-normalized, and monotonic (under any incoherent operation). In an attempt to extend CPDD in the domain of mixed states, we propose a simple, generic expression (applicable to other pure state coherence measures as well). To validate this theory, we consider a fictitious two-qubit system (both interacting and non-interacting) and, through the laser pulse–system interaction (semi-classical approach), compare the coherence evolution of CPDD with the relative entropy of coherence (Cr⋅e) and the l1-norm of coherence (Cl1), in both pure- and mixed-state regimes. The results from both the numerical and analytical (for a two-level system) studies clearly demonstrate a better sensitivity of CPDD in the close proximity of the maximally coherent states (MCS) than Cr⋅e or Cl1. To the best of our knowledge, CPDD is the only quantifier (among all existing coherence quantifiers) that is a linear function of density-matrix elements.
In this thesis, we study the evolution of qubits evolving according to the Schrödinger equation with a Hamiltonian containing noise terms, modeled by random diagonal and off-diagonal matrix elements. For a single qubit exposed to such noise, we show that the noise-averaged qubit density matrix converges to a specific final state, in the limit of large time t. We find that the convergence speed is polynomial in 1=t, with a power that depends on the regularity and the low frequency behaviour of the noise probability density. We evaluate the final state explicitly in the regimes of weak and strong off-diagonal noise. We show that the process implements the well-known dephasing channel in the localized and delocalized basis, respectively. Furthermore, we consider the evolution of the entanglement of two (or more) qubits subject to Gaussian noises with varying means and variances. We consider two different cases: individual noise where each qubit feels an independent noise, and common noise where all qubits are subjected to the same noise. We find the following characteristics of entanglement, measured by the concurrence of qubits. Initially entangled states lose their amount of entanglement in time due to the presence of the noise. The decay of entanglement happens more quickly for common noise than for individual noise. We also detect creation of entanglement due to the common noise: for some initially disentangled states, entanglement is created for intermediate times and then decays to zero in the long time again.
The conditions under which quantum-classical Liouville dynamics may be reduced to a master equation are investigated. Systems that can be partitioned into a quantum-classical subsystem interacting with a classical bath are considered. Starting with an exact non-Markovian equation for the diagonal elements of the density matrix, an evolution equation for the subsystem density matrix is derived. One contribution to this equation contains the bath average of a memory kernel that accounts for all coherences in the system. It is shown to be a rapidly decaying function, motivating a Markovian approximation on this term in the evolution equation. The resulting subsystem density matrix equation is still non-Markovian due to the fact that bath degrees of freedom have been projected out of the dynamics. Provided the computation of nonequilibrium average values or correlation functions is considered, the non-Markovian character of this equation can be removed by lifting the equation into the full phase space of the system. This leads to a trajectory description of the dynamics where each fictitious trajectory accounts for decoherence due to the bath degrees of freedom. The results are illustrated by computations of the rate constant of a model nonadiabatic chemical reaction.