Non-Markovian Quantum Dynamics: Local versus Nonlocal
- 19 February 2010
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review Letters
- Vol. 104 (7) , 070406
Abstract
We analyze non-Markovian evolution of open quantum systems. It is shown that any dynamical map representing the evolution of such a system may be described either by a nonlocal master equation with a memory kernel or equivalently by an equation which is local in time. These two descriptions are complementary: if one is simple, the other is quite involved, or even singular, and vice versa. The price one pays for the local approach is that the corresponding generator keeps the memory about the starting point ``t0.'' This is the very essence of non-Markovianity. Interestingly, this generator might be highly singular; nevertheless, the corresponding dynamics is perfectly regular. Remarkably, the singularities of the generator may lead to interesting physical phenomena such as the revival of coherence or sudden death and revival of entanglement.Keywords
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