Open Quantum Systems

Roberto S. Vitancol
Theoretical Physics Group, National Institute of Physics,
University of the Philippines, Diliman Quezon City, 1101 Philippines
(Dated: August 29, 2013)
PACS numbers: 03.65.Db

In interaction representation,

INTRODUCTION

Quantum mechanical systems are open quantum systems. Strictly speaking, the only closed system is the
entire universe and any realistic system interacts with its
environment.
In contrast to the case of a closed systems, the quantum dynamics of an open system cannot, in general, be
represented in terms of a unitary time evolution. In many
cases it turns out to be useful to formulate, instead, the
dynamics of an open system by means of an appropriate equation of motion for its density matrix, a quantum
master equation.

A system whose unpurturbed Hamltonian is HS interacts with the environment whose Hamitonian is HE so
that the total Hamiltonian of the system and environment is
(1)

where Hint is the Hamiltonian of the interaction between

the system and the environment.
The reduced density matrix of the system, (t), is obtained by taking the partial trace over the environment
of the total density matrix of the system and environment:


(t) = trE tot (t)
(2)
Assume that at t=0, the system and the environment are
uncorrelated:
tot (t) = (0) E

(3)

where E is the initial state of the environment.

Assume that the environment is a large resevoir that it
is unaffected by the system. With this assumption, the
total density matrix remains factorized in time. This is
known as the Born Approximation:
tot (t) (t) E

(4)

such that E is a stationary state of the environment,

[HE , E ] = 0

(5)

i
1 he
Hint , tot (t)
i~

(6)

Integrating equation (6),

tot (t) = tot (0) +

1
i~

t
0

h
i
e int (s), tot (s)
ds H

(7)

and substituting (7) back into (6), we have,

t tot =

MARKOVIAN MASTER EQUATION:

MICROSCOPIC DERIVATIONS

Htot = HS IE + IS HE + Hint

t tot =

i
1 he
Hint (t), tot (0)
i~
Z t h
h
ii (8)
1
e int (t), H
e int (s), tot (s)
+
ds
H
(i~)2 0

To obtain the evolution of the system in interaction representation, we trace-out the environment in (8) knowing
that equation-(2) is preserved

in the interaction representation: (t) = trE tot (t) and that the trace commutes
with t : trE (t tot ) = t trE (
tot ). Hence,
t =

h
i
1
e int (t), tot (0)
trE H
i~
h
Z t
ii
h
1
e
e
H
(s),

(s)
H
(t),
ds
tr
+
int
tot
int
E
(i~)2 0
(9)

To evaluate (9), we must first calculate

trE

h

e int (t), tot (0)

H

i

= trE

h

e int (t), (0) E

H

i

(10)

e int (t) can be written in the form

H
e int (t) =
H

X
k

ek (t) B
ek (t)
A

(11)

ek (t) = A
e (t) are eigenoperators of the system
where A
k
ek (t) = B
e (t) are eigenoperators of
Hamiltonian and B
k

Using the cyclic property of the trace and the commutation of E with HE in (5),


Ckl (t, s) = trE E eiHE (ts)/~ Bk eiHE (ts)/~ Bl (16)

the environment Hamiltonian. Thus,

h
i
e int (t), tot (0)
trE H
=

trE

ek (t) B
ek (t) (0) E
A

(0) E
=

X
k

X
k

ek (t) E B
ek (t)
(0)A

ek (t)
ek (t)E
A
(0)trE B

Ckl (t, s) = Ckl (t s)

Ckl ( ) = trE E eiHE /~ Bk eiHE /~ Bl

t =

ek (t) A
ek (t)
ek (t)
trE E B
(0) (0)A
E

ek (t), (0)
A

(12)

k,l

k,l

el (s) B
el (s) (s) E
ek (t) B
ek (t), A
A

el (s) B
el (s)
(s) E A

X




ek (t)B
el (s)E
ek (t)A
el (s)
=
A
(s) B
k,l

ek (t)E B
el (s)
ek (t)
el (s) B
(s)A
A




el (s)A
ek (t) E B
el (s)B
ek (t)
+ (s)A





e
e
e
e
(s)Ak (t) Bl (s)E Bk (t)
Al (s)



k,l

ek (t)A
el (s)
el (s)
ek (t)
(s) A
(s)A
A

+ Hermitian conjugate terms

(13)

= trE E eiHE t/~ Bk eiHE t/~ eiHE s/~ Bl eiHE s/~

The environment Hamiltonian can always

E
D be reformuek (t)
=0
lated such that the environmental energy B

for all k.
The function Ckl ( ) is determined by the environmental state alone and is appreciable only for a short range
about = 0. The remaining second term of (19) can be
written in super-operator form:
Z t
ds K(t s)
(s)
(20)
t (t) =
0

where


1 X
ek (t)A
el (s)
A
(s)
C
(t

s)
kl
(i~)2
k,l


el (s)
ek (t) + h.c.
A
(s)A

(21)

In order to simplify (20) further we perform the Markov

approximation: Since the integrand (21) is appreciable
only when t s, we can replace (s) by (t) in the integral,
Z t
ds K(t s)
(t)
(22)
t (t) =
0

(14)

Let
ek (t)B
el (s)
Ckl (t, s) = trE E B

(18)

i
E h
1 XDe
ek (t), (0)
A
Bk (t)
i~
E
k
Z
t

1 X
ek (t)A
el (s)
(s)
ds Ckl (t s) A
+
2
(i~)
0
k,l

el (s)
ek (t) + h.c.
A
(s)A
(19)

K(t s)
(s) =

h

ii
h
e int (t), H
e int (s), (s) E
H
X


ek (t)B
el (s)
=
trE E B

trE

For the second term of (9) we compute

ii
h
h
e int (s), (s) E
e int (t), H
H
ii
h
Xh
ek (t) B
ek (t), A
el (s) B
el (s), (s) E
=
A
X

(17)

Combining (17) and (15) into (14) and substituting this

along with (12) into (9),

ek (t)trE E B
ek (t)
(0)A

E
XD
ek (t)
=
B
k

ek (t) B
ek (t)
A


ek (t)
ek (t)E
(0) B
trE A

X
k

Then

(15)

where we have obtained an equation of motion for the

reduced systems density matrix in which the time development of the state of the system at time t only depends
on the present state (t). This is known as the Redfield
equation.
The Redfield equation is local in time, but it is not yet
a Markovian master equation because the time evolution

of the reduced density matrix still depends upon an explicit choice for the initial preparation at time t = 0. But
since the kernel K(t s) is appreciable only at the origin,
= t s = 0, we can replace the limit of integration by
infinity:
Z t
Z t
d K( )
ds K(t s) =
0
0
(23)
Z
d K( )
=

Then (22) becomes

Z t
1 X
t =
ds Ckl (t s)
(i~)2
0
k,l
X

eit Ak ()ei s Al ( )
(t)
,

t =

1
(i~)2

where
X

Ak () =

|EihE|Ak |E ihE |

k,l, ,

(26)

|EihE|Ak |E ihE |

E ,E

= Ak

Ak ()Al ( )
(t) Al ( )
(t)Ak ()

(28)
+ Hermitian conjugates

ek (t) = eiHS t/~ Ak eiHS t/~

A
X
=
eiHS t/~ Ak ()eiHS t/~
=

eiHS t/~

hE|Ak |E i|EihE |eiHS t/~

E E=~

hE|Ak |E ieiHS t/~ |EihE |eiHS t/~

hE|Ak |E i|EihE |ei(E

E)t/~

E E=~

eit

ek (t) =
A

hE|Ak |E i|EihE |

E E=~

it

Ak ()

(1)d Ckl ( )ei (t )+it

t
Z t

i( )t
d Ckl ( )ei
=e
Z0

i( )t
d Ckl ( )ei
e

(29)

Defining the Fourier transform of the resevoir correlation functions Ckl ( ) as

Z
1
kl () = 2
d ei Ckl ( )
(30)
~ 0

k,l, ,

E E=~

If we change varibles to = t s or s = t and

change the limits of integration to infinity,
Z t

ds Ckl (t s)ei s+it

Equation (28) then becomes

XX

ei( )t kl ( )
t =

Then

E E=~



+ Hermitian conjugates
Z
t
XX

ds Ckl (t s)ei s+it

Let HS |Ei = E|Ei where the eigenvalues E are nondegenerate and eigenvectors |Ei form a basis for the system Hilbert space. Then we can define eigenoperators of
HS for frequncies :
X
hE|Ak |E i|EihE |
Ak () =

E E=~
(25)

= Ak ()

ei s Al ( )
(t)eit Ak ()

The Markov approximation is justified if the time scale

over which the state of the system varies appreciably is
large compared to the time scale over which the reservoir correlation functions Ckl ( ) would decay. Thus, we
obtain a Markovian quantum master equation
Z
d K( )
(t)
(24)
(t) =

eit Ak ()


Al ( )
(t)Ak () Ak ()Al ( )
(t) + h.c.

For times t which are large compared to the time scale

given by the smallest enegy spacing, it is reasonable to expect that only equal pairs of frequencies = will contribute appreciably to the sum and the terms for which
6= may be neglected since they oscillate very rapidly
compared to the relaxation time of the system density
matrix. In quantum optical systems, this is known as
the rotating wave approximation(RWA). Then

XX
t =
kl () Al ()
(t)Ak ()
k,l,

(27)

(31)


Ak ()Al ()
(t) + h.c.

(32)

Separating kl into its real and imaginary components,

kl () =

1
kl () + i Skl ()
2

(33)

The density matrix in the interaction representation is

related to the density matrix in Schrodinger representation by
(t) = eiHS t/~ (t)eiHS t/~

where
kl () = kl () + lk () =

d ei Ckl ( )

(35)

Then
t =

X X 1
k,l,

kl () + i Skl ()

Al ()
(t)Ak () Ak ()Al ()
(t)

X X 1
kl () i Skl ()
+
2
k,l,


Ak ()
(t)Al () (t)Al ()Ak ()

XX 1
=
kl () Al ()
Ak () Ak ()Al ()

k,l,

Ak ()
Al ()

Al ()Ak ()


XX
+i
Skl () Al ()
Ak () Ak ()Al ()

k,l,

Ak ()
Al () + Al ()Ak ()





k and l are just dummy indices so we can interchange k

and l in the summation of the Hermitian conjugate terms
resulting to


1 XX
Skl () Ak ()Al ()
Ak ()Al ()
t =
i
k,l,

XX
1

+
kl () Al ()
Ak () Ak ()Al ()
2
k,l,

1
Ak ()Al ()
2



1
HLS , (t) + D (t)
(37)
t =
i~
where
XX
k,l,

Skl ()Ak ()Al ()

(41)


HS , Ak () = +Ak ()

(43)

 

HS , Ak (), Al () = HS , HLS = 0

(44)


1
HLS , (t) eiHS t/~
i~


+ eiHS t/~ D (t) eiHS t/~

(45)

With (40) and these commutation relations, we can express (37) as

t (t) = eiHS t/~

After equating (45) and (41), we finally obtain the

Markovian master equation in Schrodinger representation:

1
t (t) =
HS + HLS , (t)
i~

XX
1
+
kl () Al ()Ak () Ak ()Al ()
2
k,l,

1
Ak ()Al ()
(46)
2
Interaction of the system with the environment leads to
a shift of the unpurturbed energy levels of the system
(HS HS + HLS ) induced by the exchange of energy
with the environment.

(38)

NON-MARKOVIAN QUANTUM DYNAMICS

is known as the Lamb shift Hamiltonian and




XX
1
D =
kl () Al ()
Ak () Ak ()Al (),
2

k,l,

(39)

is the dissipator of the master equation.

i
HS eiHS t/~ (t)eiHS t/~
~
+ eiHS t/~ t (t)eiHS t/~
i
eiHS t/~ (t)eiHS t/~ HS
~


1
t (t) = eiHS t/~ HS , (t) eiHS t/~
i~
+ eiHS t/~ t (t)eiHS t/~

From (25) one can derive the follwing commutation properties of Ak ():


HS , Ak () = Ak ()
(42)

(36)

HLS = ~

Differentiating,
t (t) =

1
kl () lk ()
2i

Skl () =

(34)

(40)

Strong environment coupling, correlation and entanglement at initial state, and a finite resrvoir can lead to
long memory times and to a failure of the Markovian
approximation. To deal with non-Markovian quantum
dynamics, we can use projection operator techniques.

In the interaction representation

Projection Operator Techniques

The basic idea of projection operator techniques is to

reagrd the tracing over of the environment as a formal
projection 7 P in the state space of the total system.
The superoperator P has the property of a projection
operator, P 2 = P and the density matrix P is the relevant part of the density matrix of the total system.
Correspondingly, one defines a projection 7 Q
onto the irrelevant part the irrelevant part Q where
P + Q = I, the identity map. The aim is to derive a
closed equation of motion for the relevant part P.
In the case of the Nakajima-Zwanzig method this
is an integro-differential equation involving a retarded
time integration over the history of the reduced system.
The time-convolutionless projection operator technique
(TCL) leads to a time-local expansion of the equation
of motion with respect to the strength of the system
and environment coupling. The convolution in integrodifferential models is usually an undesirable characteristic because, even when the equation can be formulated,
the methods to find its solution are complicated. The
idea of the time-convolutionless (TCL) forms consist of
removing this convolution from the evolution equation to
end up with an ordinary differential equation.



I (t)
= i HI , I (t) L(t)I (t)
t

where ~ = 1 and L(t) is the Liouville super-operator.

Applying the projection super-operators,
I (t)

PI (t) = P
= PL(t)I (t)
t
t

(55)

I (t)

QI (t) = Q
= QL(t)I (t)
t
t

(56)

Upon inserting the identity I = P + Q,

PI (t) = PL(t)PI (t) + PL(t)QI (t)

t

(57)

QI (t) = QL(t)PI (t) + QL(t)QI (t)

t

(58)

To obtain a closed equation of motion for the relevant

part of the density matrix, we solve (58) and insert the
solution to (57).
The solution of (58) may be expressed as
QI (t) = G(t, t0 )QI (t0 ) +

Projection Operators

(54)

ds G(t, s)QL(s)PI (s)

t0

(59)
In order to derive an an exact equation of motion for
the reduced density matrix S = trE of the open system,
we define the super-operator P according to
7 P = trE E = S E

where


G(t, s) T exp

(47)

ds QL(s )
t0

(60)

PI (t) = PL(t)G(t, t0 )QI (t0 ) + PL(t)PI (t)

t
Z t
dsPL(t)G(t, s)QL(s)PI (s)
+ 2

(48)

Projection operators have the following properties:

t0

P2 = P

(49)

Q2 = Q

(50)

P +Q=I
PQ = QP = 0

(51)
(52)

Nakajima-Zwanzig Projection Operator Technique

Consider an open system whose total Hamiltonian is

H = H0 + HI

Inserting (59) into (57)

Defining the corresponding projection super-operator Q

7 Q = P

(61)
This equation is known as the Nakajima-Zwanzig equation. It is an exact equation for the relevant degrees of
freedom of the reduced system. The first term is an inhomogenous term which depends upon the initial condition
at time t0 . The integral is taken over the past history of
the system in the time interval [t0 , t]. Thus it describes
comletely non-Markovian effects of the reduced density
matrix dynamics.

(53)

where H0 generates the uncoupled time evolution of the

system and environment, HI is the interaction Hamiltonian, and is a dimensionless expansion parameter.

rvitancol@yahoo.com
[1] H.P. Breuer, F. Petruccione The Theory of Open Quantum
Systems, Oxford University Press, New York (2002)