Abstract We reformulate relaxation constraints for open quantum dynamics in a discrete interaction-based framework, where evolution is indexed by successive system–environment transactions rather than by continuous time. We distinguish two levels of characterisation: mode contraction factors of the one-step propagator and the channel displacement from identity. In the homogeneous semigroup-embeddable completely positive-divisible regime, the Markovian relaxation-rate bound is recovered exactly from the one-step propagator eigenvalues, which makes explicit the structural assumptions behind its validity. Beyond this regime, the appropriate constraints become path-dependent and memory-sensitive, so that a single spectral speed limit no longer characterises the overall relaxation structure. We illustrate these findings with minimal qubit models.
Abstract We reformulate relaxation constraints for open quantum dynamics in a discrete interaction-based framework, where evolution is indexed by successive system–environment transactions rather than by continuous time. We distinguish two levels of characterisation: mode contraction factors of the one-step propagator and the channel displacement from identity. In the homogeneous semigroup-embeddable completely positive-divisible regime, the Markovian relaxation-rate bound is recovered exactly from the one-step propagator eigenvalues, which makes explicit the structural assumptions behind its validity. Beyond this regime, the appropriate constraints become path-dependent and memory-sensitive, so that a single spectral speed limit no longer characterises the overall relaxation structure. We illustrate these findings with minimal qubit models.
A general property of relaxation rates in open quantum systems is discussed. We find an interesting constraint for relaxation rates that universally holds in fairly large classes of quantum dynamics, e.g., weak coupling regimes, as well as for entropy nondecreasing evolutions. We conjecture that this constraint is universal, i.e., it is valid for all quantum dynamical semigroups. The conjecture is supported by numerical analysis. Moreover, we show that the conjectured constraint is tight by providing a concrete model that saturates the bound. This universality marks an essential step toward the physical characterization of complete positivity as the constraint is directly verifiable in experiments. It provides, therefore, a physical manifestation of complete positivity. Our conjecture also has two important implications: it provides (i) a universal constraint for the spectra of quantum channels and (ii) a necessary condition to decide whether a given channel is consistent with Markovian evolution.
We study a system qubit repeatedly interacting with the same environmental qubit, with a reservoir acting on the environment between collisions via a completely positive, trace-preserving map. We show that complete suppression of system--environment correlations uniquely requires a full environmental reset, recovering a semi group dynamics with a time-independent Gorini--Kossakowski--Sudarshan--Lindblad generator, whereas a partial reset yields a continuous transition between Markovian and non-Markovian regimes governed by a single dimensionless relaxation parameter. For a resonant excitation-exchange interaction, we obtain exact closed-form expressions for the Bloch-vector dynamics for both a generalized depolarizing channel and a generalized amplitude-damping channel acting as the reservoir-induced map. Using the Breuer--Laine--Piilo measure and a Choi-matrix CP-divisibility witness, we identify three distinct dynamical regimes across the parameter space: CP-divisible Markovian dynamics, CP-indivisible but P-divisible dynamics, and non-P-divisible non-Markovian dynamics. The boundaries between these regimes, and the structural differences between uniform and anisotropic environmental relaxation, are characterized numerically.
Abstract We study discrete quantum dynamics where a single evolution step consists of unitary system transformation followed by decoherence via coupling to an environment. Often, non-Markovian memory effects are attributed to structured environments, whereas, here, we take a more general approach within a discrete setting. In addition of controlling the structure of the environment, we are interested in how local unitaries on the open system allow the appearance and control of memory effects. Our first simple qubit model where local unitary is followed by dephasing illustrates how memory effects arise, despite having no structure in the environment the system is coupled with. We, then, elaborate on this observation by constructing a model for an open quantum walk where the unitary coin and transfer operation is augmented with the dephasing of the coin. The results demonstrate tha,t in the limit of strong dephasing within each evolution step, the combined coin-position open system always displays memory effects, and their quantities are independent of the structure of the environment. Our construction makes possible an experimentally realizable open quantum walk with photons exhibiting non-Markovian features.
Relaxation rates are key characteristics of quantum processes, as they determine how quickly a quantum system thermalizes, equilibrates, decoheres, and dissipates. While they play a crucial role in theoretical analyses, relaxation rates are also often directly accessible through experimental measurements. Recently, it was shown that for quantum processes governed by Markovian semigroups, the relaxation rates satisfy a universal constraint: the maximal rate is upper-bounded by the sum of all rates divided by the dimension of the Hilbert space. This bound, initially conjectured a few years ago, was only recently proven using classical Lyapunov theory. In this work, we present a new, purely algebraic proof of this constraint. Remarkably, our approach is not only more direct but also allows for a natural generalization beyond completely positive semigroups. We show that complete positivity can be relaxed to two-positivity without affecting the validity of the constraint. This reveals that the bound is more subtle than previously understood: two-positivity is necessary, but even when further relaxed to Schwarz maps, a slightly weaker—yet still non-trivial—universal constraint still holds. Finally, we explore the connection between these bounds and the number of steady states in quantum processes, uncovering a deeper structure underlying their behavior.
We define non-Markovian quantum dynamics as evolution in which the current state depends on all past states, and completely characterize its structure under the assumptions of complete positivity and non-signalling. The resulting continuous-time dynamics is an integro-differential equation that augments the Gorini-Kossakowski-Sudarshan-Lindblad equation with a memory integral, and is capable of describing the quantum state of systems exposed to noise with any integrable power spectral density with no further approximations. We then establish a formalism to evaluate multi-time correlations of measurement outcomes in this general setting, obviating the need for a regression theorem. As an application, we derive the emission spectrum of a driven two-level system coupled to a non-Markovian bath: the familiar Mollow triplet acquires a frequency-dependent linewidth that encodes the memory of the bath. Our work provides a rigorous yet transparent description of the quantum state of non-Markovian systems, opening the door for state estimation and state-based quantum control beyond the Markovian regime.
Relaxation rates are key characteristics of quantum processes, as they determine how quickly a quantum system thermalizes, equilibrates, decoheres, and dissipates. While they play a crucial role in theoretical analyses, relaxation rates are also often directly accessible through experimental measurements. Recently, it was shown that for quantum processes governed by Markovian semigroups, the relaxation rates satisfy a universal constraint: the maximal rate is upper-bounded by the sum of all rates divided by the dimension of the Hilbert space. This bound, initially conjectured a few years ago, was only recently proven using classical Lyapunov theory. In this work, we present a new, purely algebraic proof of this constraint. Remarkably, our approach is not only more direct but also allows for a natural generalization beyond completely positive semigroups. We show that complete positivity can be relaxed to two-positivity without affecting the validity of the constraint. This reveals that the bound is more subtle than previously understood: two-positivity is necessary, but even when further relaxed to Schwarz maps, a slightly weaker-yet still non-trivial-universal constraint still holds. Finally, we explore the connection between these bounds and the number of steady states in quantum processes, uncovering a deeper structure underlying their behavior.