Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: A generic non-integrable (unitary) out-of-equilibrium quantum process, when interrogated across many times, is shown to yield the same statistics as an (non-unitary) equilibrated process. In particular, using the tools of quantum stochastic processes, we prove that under loose assumptions, quantum processes equilibrate within finite time intervals. Sufficient conditions for this to occur are that multitime observables are coarse grained in both space and time, and that the initial state overlaps with many different energy eigenstates. These results help bridge the gap between (unitary) quantum and (non-unitary) statistical physics, i.e., when all multitime properties and correlations are well approximated by stationary quantities, which includes non-Markovianity and temporal entanglement. We discuss implications of this result for the emergence of classical stochastic processes from multitime measurements of an underlying genuinely quantum system.
Source: SciPost Physics Core
Institutions: Monash University, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Language: English
Subfield: Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
Funders: “la Caixa” Foundation, Australian Government, Monash University, Generalitat de Catalunya, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Fundación Bancaria Caixa d'Estalvis i Pensions de Barcelona, U.S. Air Force, Australian Research Council, Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Air Force Research Laboratory
OpenAlex ID: W4382623271