Let
(Tt)t≥0 be a Gaussian quantum Markov semigroup with a faithful normal invariant state
ρ. For every
s∈[0,1], the
s-embedding associated with
ρ induces a contraction semigroup
(Tt(s))t≥0 on the Hilbert--Schmidt space
B2(h); let
L(s) denote its generator. Without assuming symmetry or quantum detailed balance, we determine the full spectra of
L(s) and
L(s)∗: they consist, respectively, of the non-negative integer combinations of the eigenvalues of the phase-space drift matrix and of their complex conjugates. We also diagonalize the self-adjoint closure of
L(s)∗+L(s) and obtain an explicit formula for the spectral gap. Using quantum characteristic functions, we represent
Tt(s), up to unitary equivalence, as a complex Gaussian integral operator and prove that its kernel is square-integrable for every
t>0. Hence
Tt(s) is a Hilbert--Schmidt operator on
B2(h) for every
t>0, and every induced semigroup is immediately compact. Consequently,
L(s) and
L(s)∗ have compact resolvent for all
s∈[0,1], and their point spectra exhaust their full spectra. These results provide a full quantum counterpart of classical Ornstein--Uhlenbeck spectral theory.
We study a class of generic quantum Markov semigroups on the algebra of all bounded operators on a Hilbert space h arising from the stochastic limit of a discrete system with generic Hamiltonian HS, acting on h, interacting with a Gaussian, gauge invariant, reservoir. The selfadjoint operator HS determines a privileged orthonormal basis of h. These semigroups leave invariant diagonal and off-diagonal bounded operators with respect to this basis. The action on diagonal operators describes a classical Markov jump process. We construct generic semigroups from their formal generators by the minimal semigroup method and discuss their conservativity (uniqueness). When the semigroup is irreducible we prove uniqueness of the equilibrium state and show that, starting from an arbitrary initial state, the semigroup converges towards this state. We also prove that the exponential speed of convergence of the quantum Markov semigroup coincides with the exponential speed of convergence of the classical (diagonal) semigroup towards its unique invariant measure. The exponential speed is computed or estimated in some examples.
For a quantum Markov semigroup [Formula: see text] on the algebra [Formula: see text] with a faithful invariant state ρ, we can define an adjoint [Formula: see text] with respect to the scalar product determined by ρ. In this paper, we solve the open problems of characterizing adjoints [Formula: see text] that are also a quantum Markov semigroup and satisfy the detailed balance condition in terms of the operators H, Lk in the Gorini–Kossakowski–Sudarshan–Lindblad representation [Formula: see text] of the generator of [Formula: see text]. We study the adjoint semigroup with respect to both scalar products 〈a, b〉 = tr (ρa*b) and 〈a, b〉 = tr (ρ1/2a*ρ1/2 b).
The quantum Markov semigroup of the two-photon absorption and emission process has two extremal normal invariant states. Starting from an arbitrary initial state it converges toward some convex combination of these states as time goes to infinity (approach to equilibrium). We compute the exact exponential rate of this convergence showing that it depends only on the emission rates. Moreover, we show that off-diagonal matrix elements of any initial state go to zero with an exponential rate which is smaller than the exponential rate of convergence of the diagonal part. In other words quantum features of a state survive longer than the relaxation time of its classical part.
We consider a sequence of operators [Formula: see text] that describes the time evolution of normal states of an open quantum system. Our objective is to analyze the asymptotic behavior of [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] is an arbitrary initial normal state. Our focus is on specific situations in which the operators [Formula: see text] are produced by various quantum Markov semigroups of weak coupling limit-type. To tackle this problem, we introduce a new result concerning exponential convergence to equilibrium in the trace norm for quantum Markov semigroups, provided that their induced semigroups have a spectral gap. Moreover, applications to quantum annealing are discussed.
We study a special class of generic quantum Markov semigroups, on the algebra of all bounded operators on a Hilbert space [Formula: see text], arising in the stochastic limit of a generic system interacting with a boson–Fock reservoir. This class depends on an orthonormal basis of [Formula: see text]. We obtain a new estimate for the trace distance of a state from a pure state and use this estimate to prove that, under the action of a semigroup of this class, states with finite support with respect to the given basis converge to equilibrium with a speed which is exponential, but with a polynomial correction which makes the convergence increasingly worse as the dimension of the support increases (Theorem 5.1). We interpret the semigroup as an algorithm, its initial state as input and, following Belavkin and Ohya,10 the dimension of the support of a state as a measure of complexity of the input. With this interpretation, the above results mean that the complexity of the input "slows down" the convergence of the algorithm. Even if the convergence is exponential and the slow down the polynomial, the constants involved may be such that the convergence times become unacceptable from a computational standpoint. This suggests that, in the absence of estimates of the constants involved, distinctions such as "exponentially fast" and "polynomially slow" may become meaningless from a constructive point of view. We also show that, for arbitray states, the speed of convergence to equilibrium is controlled by the rate of decoherence and the rate of purification (i.e. of concentration of the probability on a single pure state). We construct examples showing that the order of magnitude of these two decays can be quite different.