AI Article Synopsis
- The Redfield theory offers a way to describe quantum systems that interact weakly with a dense environment, while the Landau-Zener theory focuses on systems impacted by a less dense environment that changes over time.
- By examining a simple model, the study compares the predictions of both theories against exact numerical results, revealing that they can actually lead to the same quantum master equation.
- The research highlights the need to carefully consider system-reservoir interactions and emphasizes that both theories can effectively describe nonequilibrium thermodynamics under the right conditions.
Article Abstract
Redfield theory provides a closed kinetic description of a quantum system in weak contact with a very dense reservoir. Landau-Zener theory does the same for a time-dependent driven system in contact with a sparse reservoir. Using a simple model, we analyze the validity of these two theories by comparing their predictions with exact numerical results. We show that despite their a priori different range of validity, these two descriptions can give rise to an identical quantum master equation. Both theories can be used for a nonequilibrium thermodynamic description, which we show is consistent with exact thermodynamic identities evaluated in the full system-reservoir space. We emphasize the importance of properly accounting for the system-reservoir interaction energy and of operating in regimes where the reservoir can be considered as close to ideal.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.96.052132 | DOI Listing |
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