Work

Open quantum dynamics without Complete Positivity: a criticism

Year: 2026

Type: preprint

Abstract: The requirement of complete positivity is very often regarded as a fundamental consistency condition for the description of open quantum dynamics. We critically examine this requirement and discuss both its physical motivations and its limitations. We analyze proposals based on restricting the domain of non-completely positive maps to subsets of compatible initial states. Using isotropic states as a concrete example, we show that such domain restrictions become increasingly severe with growing system dimension, revealing an intrinsic weakness of the compatibility-based approach.

Source: arXiv (Cornell University)

DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2605.18639

Authors: Benatti, Fabio, Chruściński, Dariusz, Pascazio, Saverio

Institutions: University of Trieste, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Trieste, Nicolaus Copernicus University

Topic: Quantum Mechanics and Applications

Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W7161720258

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