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Scientific Reports

Quantum dynamics, master equation and equilibrium for a qubit coupled to a thermal boson field

Hiromichi Nakazato, Saverio Pascazio

Published Mar 10, 2026• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We analytically derive the exact—though formal—master equation for a two-level quantum system (qubit) interacting with a bosonic environment within the rotating-wave approximation. Assuming that the environment is initially in an arbitrary thermal state, the long-time behavior of the evolution operator governing the dynamics of both the system and the environment is analyzed, and the conditions under which the system approaches thermal equilibrium are examined.

DOI
10.1038/s41598-026-42305-5

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We analytically derive the exact—though formal—master equation for a two-level quantum system (qubit) interacting with a bosonic environment within the rotating-wave approximation. Assuming that the environment is initially in an arbitrary thermal state, the long-time behavior of the evolution operator governing the dynamics of both the system and the environment is analyzed, and the conditions under which the system approaches thermal equilibrium are examined.
We present a general master equation, correct to second order in the system-environment coupling strength, that takes into account the initial system-environment correlations. We assume that the system and its environment are in a joint thermal equilibrium state, and thereafter, a unitary operation is performed to prepare the desired initial system state, with the system Hamiltonian possibly changing thereafter as well. We show that the effect of the initial correlations shows up in the second-order master equation as an additional term, similar in form to the usual second-order term describing relaxation and decoherence in quantum systems. We apply this master equation to a generalization of the paradigmatic spin-boson model, namely, a collection of two-level systems interacting with a common environment of harmonic oscillators, as well as a collection of two-level systems interacting with a common spin environment. We demonstrate that, in general, the initial system-environment correlations need to be accounted for in order to accurately obtain the system dynamics.
The dynamics of simple qubit systems in a chain configuration coupled at both ends to separate bosonic baths at different temperatures is studied. An exact analytical solution of the master equation in the Born-Markov approximation for the reduced density matrix of the qubit system is constructed. The unique non-equilibrium stationary state for the long time behavior of the reduced density matrix in obtained. Dynamical and steady state properties of the concurrence between the first and the last spin are studied.
The usual paradigm of open quantum systems falls short when the environment is actually coupled to additional fields or components that drive it out of equilibrium. Here we explore the simplest such scenario, by considering a two level system coupled to a first thermal reservoir that in turn couples to a second thermal bath at a different temperature. We derive a master equation description for the system and show that, in this situation, the dynamics can be especially rich. In particular, we observe prethermalization, a transitory phenomenon in which the system initially approaches thermal equilibrium with respect to the first reservoir, but after a longer time converges to the thermal state dictated by the temperature of the second environment. Using analytical arguments and numerical simulations, we analyze the occurrence of this phenomenon, and how it depends on temperatures and coupling strengths. The phenomenology gets even richer if the system is placed between two such non-equilibrium environments. In this case, the energy current through the system may exhibit transient features and even switch direction, before the system eventually reaches a non-equilibrium steady state.
We demonstrate an exact mapping of a class of models of two interacting qubits in thermal reservoirs to two separate problems of spin–boson-type systems. Based on this mapping, exact numerical simulations of the qubits dynamics can be performed, beyond the weak system–bath coupling limit and the Markovian approximation. Given the time evolution of the system population and coherences, we study as an application the dynamics of entanglement between the pair of qubits immersed in boson thermal baths, showing a rich phenomenology, including an intermediate oscillatory behavior, the entanglement sudden birth, sudden death and revival. We find that the occurrence of entanglement sudden death in this model depends on the portion of the zero and double excitation states in the subsystem initial state. In the long-time limit, analytic expressions are presented at weak system–bath coupling, for a range of relevant qubit parameters.
Non-Markovian dynamics of two interacting two-level qubits coupled to a bosonic bath was previously studied using the quantum-state-diffusion (QSD) equation, where a stochastic state is used to describe the system. In this study, we provide another perspective on this system by deriving the analytic form of the master equation, which describes the system with a reduced density matrix. Then, we validate the master equation by examining entanglement generation and state purity. In addition, with the master equation, we observe the effects from first-order noise and notice that a good asymptotic approximation to the master equation can be made by neglecting the first-order noise.