Markovian master equation and thermodynamics of a two-level system in a strong laser field

Szczygielski, Krzysztof; Gelbwaser-Klimovsky, David; Alicki, Robert

doi:10.1103/physreve.87.012120

Cited by 110 publications

(165 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Finitetime quantum thermodynamics [15][16][17] and Brownian quantum engines [18,19] were studied using the formalism of open quantum systems. In particular single-qubit heat engines subject to Markovian dissipation were considered in [20][21][22][23]. The impact of the bath spectral density on the efficiency of quantum engines was also noticed in the context of autonomous heat pumps [24,25] and single-qubit minimal machines [26].…”

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confidence: 99%

Slow Dynamics and Thermodynamics of Open Quantum Systems

2017

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We develop a perturbation theory of quantum (and classical) master equations with slowly varying parameters, applicable to systems which are externally controlled on a time scale much longer than their characteristic relaxation time. We apply this technique to the analysis of finite-time isothermal processes in which, differently from quasi-static transformations, the state of the system is not able to continuously relax to the equilibrium ensemble. Our approach allows to formally evaluate perturbations up to arbitrary order to the work and heat exchange associated to an arbitrary process. Within first order in the perturbation expansion, we identify a general formula for the efficiency at maximum power of a finite-time Carnot engine. We also clarify under which assumptions and in which limit one can recover previous phenomenological results as, for example, the Curzon-Ahlborn efficiency.A central result in the study of open quantum systems [1, 2] is the Markovian Master Equation (MME) approach which, under realistic assumptions, describes the temporal evolution of a system of interest A induced by a weak coupling with a large external environment E. This consists in a first order linear differential equatioṅ ρ(t) = L[ρ(t)] where ρ(t) is the density matrix of A and where the generator of the dynamics is provided by a quantum Liouvillian superoperator L that can be casted in the so called Gorini-Kossakowski-Sudarshan-Lindblad form [3][4][5]. For autonomous systems the latter does not exhibit an explicit time dependence and the dynamics of A exponentially relaxes to a (typically unique) equilibrium steady state ρ 0 identified by the null eigenvector equation L[ρ 0 ] = 0. MMEs can also be employed to describe the temporal evolution of A when it is tampered by the presence of slow varying, external driving forces. Indeed, as long as these operate on a time scale which is much larger than the characteristic bath correlations times and the inverse frequencies of the system of interest, the effective coupling between A and E adapts instantaneously to the driving control, resulting on a MME governed by a time-dependent Liouvillian generator, i.e.An explicit integration of this equation is in general difficult to obtain. Yet, if the control forces are so slow that their associated time scale is also larger with respect to the relaxation time of the system induced by the interaction with E, one expects ρ(t) to approximately follow the instantaneous equilibrium state ρ 0 (t) that nullifies L t . Our aim is to estimate quantitative deviations from this ultra-slow driving regime. For this purpose we develop a perturbation theory valid in the limit of slowly varying Liouvillians L t and derive a formal solution of Eq. (1) which allows one to evaluate non-equilibrium corrections up to arbitrary order. The main motivation of our analysis is to model thermodynamic processes and cycles beyond the usual reversible limit which is strictly valid only for infinitely long quasi-static transformations. Finite-time thermodynamics [7,8]...

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confidence: 99%

Slow Dynamics and Thermodynamics of Open Quantum Systems

2017

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“…This approximation fails to capture dynamical effects which arise due to the time-periodic modulations. In this work, we therefore seek to go beyond the adiabatic approximation.For weak system-bath coupling, a combination of Quantum Master Equation methods (typically of the Lindblad form) with Floquet theory is often used to go beyond the adiabatic approximation [57][58][59][60][61][62]. However, Floquet theory has the drawback of converting a finitedimensional problem to an infinite dimensional one.…”

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confidence: 99%

Quantum transport under ac drive from the leads: A Redfield quantum master equation approach

Purkayastha

2017

Phys. Rev. B

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Evaluating the time-dependent dynamics of driven open quantum systems is relevant for a theoretical description of many systems, including molecular junctions, quantum dots, cavity-QED experiments, cold atoms experiments and more. Here, we formulate a rigorous microscopic theory of an out-of-equilibrium open quantum system of non-interacting particles on a lattice weakly coupled bilinearly to multiple baths and driven by periodically varying thermodynamic parameters like temperature and chemical potential of the bath. The particles can be either bosonic or fermionic and the lattice can be of any dimension and geometry. Based on Redfield quantum master equation under Born-Markov approximation, we derive a linear differential equation for equal time two-point correlation matrix, sometimes also called single-particle density matrix, from which various physical observables, for example, current, can be calculated. Various interesting physical effects, such as resonance, can be directly read-off from the equations. Thus, our theory is quite general gives quite transparent and easy-to-calculate results. We validate our theory by comparing with exact numerical simulations. We apply our method to a generic open quantum system, namely a double-quantum dot coupled to leads with modulating chemical potentials. Two most important experimentally relevant insights from this are : (i) time-dependent measurements of current for symmetric oscillating voltages (with zero instantaneous voltage bias) can point to the degree of asymmetry in the system-bath coupling, and (ii) under certain conditions, time-dependent currents can exceed time-averaged currents by several orders of magnitude, and can therefore be detected even when the average current is below the measurement threshold. A. IntroductionThe dynamics of a quantum system coupled to an external environment (so-called "open" quantum system) are a result of the intricate interplay between the coherent evolution of the quantum degrees of freedom, the structure of the environment and the form and strength of the system-environment coupling. From quantum cavities [1-3] and superconducting qubits [4][5][6][7][8][9] , through quantum dots [10][11][12][13][14][15], molecular junctions [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] and cold atoms [28][29][30][31] , to excitons traveling in photosynthetic complexes [32][33][34][35], open quantum systems show dynamics which can be far richer and more surprising than their coherent (environment-free) counterparts.Recent ideas of designing a quantum state by engineering a specific environment [36][37][38][39][40][41][42] or by a periodic modulation of the open system's Hamiltonian [16,43,44] open a path to new forms of control over quantum systems. Combining these two concepts of time-periodic modulations and environment (bath) engineering, here we study the dynamics of open quantum systems where the environment thermodynamic parameters are periodically modulated. Even though there exists formally exact methods of treating such set-ups...

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“…III) which is the nonadiabatic counterpart of Carnot cycles. The steady-state of S and the slow-changing cycles of P correspond to Markovian evolution of S+P [42][43][44].…”

Section: A Basic Assumptions and Principlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This generator involves the bath response at the Hamiltonian eigenvalues [44]: the TLS (S) resonant frequency, ω 0 , and combination frequencies ω ± :…”

Section: B Markovian Evolution: the Fokker-planck Equationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heat-machine control by quantum-state preparation: From quantum engines to refrigerators

2014

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We explore the dependence of the performance bounds of heat engines and refrigerators on the initial quantum state and the subsequent evolution of their piston, modeled by a quantized harmonic oscillator. Our goal is to provide a fully quantized treatment of self-contained (autonomous) heat machines, as opposed to their prevailing semiclassical description that consists of a quantum system alternately coupled to a hot or a cold heat bath, and parametrically driven by a classical time-dependent piston or field. Here by contrast, there is no external time-dependent driving. Instead, the evolution is caused by the stationary simultaneous interaction of two heat baths (having distinct spectra and temperatures) with a single two-level system that is in turn coupled to the quantum piston. The fully quantized treatment we put forward allows us to investigate work extraction and refrigeration by the tools of quantum-optical amplifier and dissipation theory, particularly, by the analysis of amplified or dissipated phase-plane quasiprobability distributions. Our main insight is that quantum states may be thermodynamic resources and can provide a powerful handle, or control, on the efficiency of the heat machine. In particular, a piston initialized in a coherent state can cause the engine to produce work at an efficiency above the Carnot bound in the linear amplification regime. In the refrigeration regime, the coefficient of performance can transgress the Carnot bound if the piston is initialized in a Fock state. The piston may be realized by a vibrational mode, as in nanomechanical setups, or an electromagnetic field mode, as in cavitybased scenarios.

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Markovian master equation and thermodynamics of a two-level system in a strong laser field

Cited by 110 publications

References 30 publications

Slow Dynamics and Thermodynamics of Open Quantum Systems

Slow Dynamics and Thermodynamics of Open Quantum Systems

Quantum transport under ac drive from the leads: A Redfield quantum master equation approach

Heat-machine control by quantum-state preparation: From quantum engines to refrigerators

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