On non-Markovianity in Open Quantum Systems
File version
Author(s)
Primary Supervisor
Hall, Michael
Wiseman, Howard
Other Supervisors
Editor(s)
Date
Size
File type(s)
Location
License
Abstract
Markovian approximation is a widely-employed idea in the descriptions of the dynamics of open quantum systems. Although it is usually claimed to be a concept inspired by classical Markovianity, the physical meaning of this concept, however, is vague. In this thesis, I compare the descriptions of classical stochastic processes and open quantum systems, and show that those inherent differences lead to the non-trivial problem of characterizing quantum non-Markovianity. With various examples, I argue that the current most often used definitions of quantumMarkovianity in the literature do not fully capture the memoryless property of OQSs. To address this issue, I take a different approach by studying a host of Markov-related concepts in the quantum regime. Some of these concepts have long been used in quantum theory, while others are first proposed in this thesis. I define all these concepts under a unified framework, which allows one to rigorously build hierarchy relations among them. In this sense, quantum non-Markovianity is highly context-dependent. The results in this thesis, summarized as a hierarchy figure, are expected to bring clarity to the nature of quantumnon-Markovianity.
Journal Title
Conference Title
Book Title
Edition
Volume
Issue
Thesis Type
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Degree Program
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School
School of Natural Sciences
Publisher link
Patent number
Funder(s)
Grant identifier(s)
Rights Statement
Rights Statement
The author owns the copyright in this thesis, unless stated otherwise.
Item Access Status
Note
Access the data
Related item(s)
Subject
Quantum systems
Markovian approximation