Open Quantum Systems’ Decay across Time

The description of an open quantum system's decay almost always requires several approximations so as to remain tractable. In this Letter, we first revisit the meaning, domain, and seeming contradictions of a few of the most widely used of such approximations: (semigroup) Markovianity, linear r...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2021-05, Vol.126 (21), p.210401-210401, Article 210401
Main Authors: Klatt, Juliane, Kropf, Chahan M., Buhmann, Stefan Y.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Approximation
Decay
Mathematical analysis
Quantum theory
Time dependence
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Summary:The description of an open quantum system's decay almost always requires several approximations so as to remain tractable. In this Letter, we first revisit the meaning, domain, and seeming contradictions of a few of the most widely used of such approximations: (semigroup) Markovianity, linear response theory, Wigner-Weisskopf approximation, and rotating-wave approximation. Second, we derive an effective time-dependent decay theory and corresponding generalized quantum regression relations for an open quantum system linearly coupled to an environment. This theory covers all timescales and subsumes the Markovian and linear-response results as limiting cases. Finally, we apply our theory to the phenomenon of quantum friction.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.210401