We shall discuss the role of electrical contacts within the conventional treatment of quantum devices based on the Wigner-Function formalism. Our analysis will show that the artificial spatial separation between device active region and external reservoirs, being intrinsically incompatible with the non-local character of quantum mechanics, may produce highly non-physical results like boundary-driven negative probability distributions. To overcome this serious limitation, we shall propose a new strategy to properly separate device and reservoir degrees of freedom, based on the well known projection techniques used in the formal theory of open systems. Our main result is a non-Markovian master equation, where dissipation and dephasing phenomena are also induced by the presence of spatially external particle reservoirs.
Quantum non-locality in systems with open boundaries: From the Wigner-function formalism to non-homogeneous Markovian master equations / Taj, David; Rossi, Fausto. - In: PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI. C, CURRENT TOPICS IN SOLID STATE PHYSICS. - ISSN 1862-6351. - STAMPA. - 5:1(2008), pp. 66-69. [10.1002/pssc.200776527]
Quantum non-locality in systems with open boundaries: From the Wigner-function formalism to non-homogeneous Markovian master equations
TAJ, DAVID;ROSSI, FAUSTO
2008
Abstract
We shall discuss the role of electrical contacts within the conventional treatment of quantum devices based on the Wigner-Function formalism. Our analysis will show that the artificial spatial separation between device active region and external reservoirs, being intrinsically incompatible with the non-local character of quantum mechanics, may produce highly non-physical results like boundary-driven negative probability distributions. To overcome this serious limitation, we shall propose a new strategy to properly separate device and reservoir degrees of freedom, based on the well known projection techniques used in the formal theory of open systems. Our main result is a non-Markovian master equation, where dissipation and dephasing phenomena are also induced by the presence of spatially external particle reservoirs.Pubblicazioni consigliate
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https://hdl.handle.net/11583/1797134
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