Master equation

About: Master equation is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 10541 publications have been published within this topic receiving 276095 citations.

Testing the Master Constraint Programme for Loop Quantum Gravity I. General Framework

Abstract: Recently, the master constraint programme for loop quantum gravity (LQG) was proposed as a classically equivalent way to impose the infinite number of Wheeler?DeWitt constraint equations in terms of a single master equation. While the proposal has some promising abstract features, it was until now barely tested in known models. In this series of five papers we fill this gap, thereby adding confidence to the proposal. We consider a wide range of models with increasingly more complicated constraint algebras, beginning with a finite-dimensional, Abelian algebra of constraint operators which are linear in the momenta and ending with an infinite-dimensional, non-Abelian algebra of constraint operators which closes with structure functions only and which are not even polynomial in the momenta. In all these models, we apply the master constraint programme successfully; however, the full flexibility of the method must be exploited in order to complete our task. This shows that the master constraint programme has a wide range of applicability but that there are many, physically interesting subtleties that must be taken care of in doing so. In particular, as we will see, that we can possibly construct a master constraint operator for a nonlinear, that is, interacting quantum field theory underlines the strength of the background-independent formulation of LQG. In this first paper, we prepare the analysis of our test models by outlining the general framework of the master constraint programme. The models themselves will be studied in the remaining four papers. As a side result, we develop the direct integral decomposition (DID) programme for solving quantum constraints as an alternative to refined algebraic quantization (RAQ).

Tenfold Way for Quadratic Lindbladians.

Abstract: We uncover a topological classification applicable to open fermionic systems governed by a general class of Lindblad master equations. These ``quadratic Lindbladians'' can be captured by a non-Hermitian single-particle matrix which describes internal dynamics as well as system-environment coupling. We show that this matrix must belong to one of ten non-Hermitian Bernard-LeClair symmetry classes which reduce to the Altland-Zirnbauer classes in the closed limit. The Lindblad spectrum admits a topological classification, which we show results in gapless edge excitations with finite lifetimes. Unlike previous studies of purely Hamiltonian or purely dissipative evolution, these topological edge modes are unconnected to the form of the steady state. We provide one-dimensional examples where the addition of dissipators can either preserve or destroy the closed classification of a model, highlighting the sensitivity of topological properties to details of the system-environment coupling.

Preparation of entangled and antiferromagnetic states by dissipative Rydberg pumping.

Abstract: We propose and analyze an approach for preparation of high fidelity entanglement and antiferromagnetic states using Rydberg mediated interactions with dissipation. Using asymmetric Rydberg interactions the two-atom Bell singlet is a dark state of the Rydberg pumping process. Master equation simulations demonstrate Bell singlet preparation fidelity $\mathcal{F}=0.998$. Antiferromagnetic states are generated on a four-spin plaquette in agreement with results found from diagonalization of the transverse field Ising Hamiltonian.

Genuine quantum trajectories for non-Markovian processes

Abstract: A large class of non-Markovian quantum processes in open systems can be formulated through time-local master equations which are not in Lindblad form. It is shown that such processes can be embedded in a Markovian dynamics which involves a time-dependent Lindblad generator on an extended state space. If the state space of the open system is given by some Hilbert space $\mathcal{H}$, the extended state space is the triple Hilbert space $\mathcal{H}\ensuremath{\bigotimes}{\mathbb{C}}^{3}$ which is obtained by combining the open system with a three-state system. This embedding is used to derive an unraveling for non-Markovian time evolution by means of a stochastic process in the extended state space. The process is defined through a stochastic Schr\"odinger equation which generates genuine quantum trajectories for the state vector conditioned on a continuous monitoring of an environment. The construction leads to a continuous measurement interpretation for non-Markovian dynamics within the framework of the theory of quantum measurement.

Non-Boltzmann Modeling for Air Shock-Layer Radiation at Lunar-Return Conditions

Abstract: This paper investigates the non-Boltzmann modeling of the radiating atomic and molecular electronic states present in lunar-return shock-layers. The Master Equation is derived for a general atom or molecule while accounting for a variety of excitation and de-excitation mechanisms. A new set of electronic-impact excitation rates is compiled for N, O, and N2+, which are the main radiating species for most lunar-return shock-layers. Based on these new rates, a novel approach of curve-fitting the non-Boltzmann populations of the radiating atomic and molecular states is developed. This new approach provides a simple and accurate method for calculating the atomic and molecular non-Boltzmann populations while avoiding the matrix inversion procedure required for the detailed solution of the Master Equation. The radiative flux values predicted by the present detailed non-Boltzmann model and the approximate curve-fitting approach are shown to agree within 5% for the Fire 1634 s case.