Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: We discuss many-body fermionic and bosonic systems subject to dissipative particle losses in arbitrary spatial dimensions d d , within the Keldysh path-integral formulation of the quantum master equation. This open quantum dynamics represents a generalisation of classical reaction-diffusion dynamics to the quantum realm. We first show how initial conditions can be introduced in the Keldysh path integral via boundary terms. We then study binary annihilation reactions A+A\to \emptyset A + A → ∅ , for which we derive a Boltzmann-like kinetic equation. The ensuing algebraic decay in time for the particle density depends on the particle statistics. In order to model possible experimental implementations with cold atoms, for fermions in d=1 d = 1 we further discuss inhomogeneous cases involving the presence of a trapping potential. In this context, we quantify the irreversibility of the dynamics studying the time evolution of the system entropy for different quenches of the trapping potential. We find that the system entropy features algebraic decay for confining quenches, while it saturates in deconfined scenarios.
Source: SciPost Physics Core
Language: English
Topic: Quantum many-body systems
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4400222176