A thermodynamically consistent Markovian master equation beyond the secular approximation

• Published in: New journal of physics Vol. 23; no. 12; pp. 123013 - 123041
• Main Authors: Potts, Patrick P, Kalaee, Alex Arash Sand, Wacker, Andreas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bristol IOP Publishing 01.12.2021
• Subjects: Approximation; Condensed Matter Physics; Condensed Matter Physics (including Material Physics, Nano Physics); Den kondenserade materiens fysik; Den kondenserade materiens fysik (Här ingår: Materialfysik, nanofysik); Fysik; heat engine; Markovian master equation; Mathematical analysis; Natural Sciences; Naturvetenskap; Physical Sciences; Physics; quantum thermodynamics
• ISSN: 1367-2630; 1367-2630
• DOI: 10.1088/1367-2630/ac3b2f

Markovian master equations provide a versatile tool for describing open quantum systems when memory effects of the environment may be neglected. As these equations are of an approximate nature, they often do not respect the laws of thermodynamics when no secular approximation is performed in their derivation. Here we introduce a Markovian master equation that is thermodynamically consistent and provides an accurate description whenever memory effects can be neglected. The thermodynamic consistency is obtained through a rescaled Hamiltonian for the thermodynamic bookkeeping, exploiting the fact that a Markovian description implies a limited resolution for heat. Our results enable a thermodynamically consistent description of a variety of systems where the secular approximation breaks down.