Variational principle for dissipative quantum systems

Seminar

Dissipative quantum many-body systems are extremely challenging to analyze, as most theoretical tools developed for equilibrium systems cannot be applied. I will present the initial steps towards a deeper understanding of these systems by introducing a variational principle for the non-equilibrium steady states of the quantum master equation describing the dynamics [1]. In particular, I will apply this approach to study phase transitions in dissipative extensions of the Ising model and show their importance to ongoing experiments on ultracold Rydberg atoms [2]. Finally, I will present first results on the extension of the variational principle to the relaxation dynamics of dissipative quantum many-body systems [3]. [1] H. Weimer, Phys. Rev. Lett. *114*, 040402 (2015). [2] H. Weimer, Phys. Rev. A *91*, 063401 (2015). [3] V. R. Overbeck, H. Weimer, Phys. Rev. A *93*, 012106 (2016).

Back to list