Time-dependent Markovian master equation for adiabatic systems and its application to Cooper-pair pumping

Abstract

For adiabatically and periodically manipulated dissipative quantum systems, we derive, using Floquet theory, a simple Markovian master equation. Contrary to some previous works, we explicitly take into account the time dependence of the Hamiltonian and, therefore, obtain a master equation with a time-dependent dissipative part. We illustrate our theory with two examples and compare our results with the previously proposed master equations. In particular, we consider the problem of Cooper-pair pumping and demonstrate the inadequacy of the secular (rotating-wave) approximation when calculating the pumped charge. The secular approximation producing a master equation of the Lindblad-type approximates well the quantum state (density matrix) of the system, while to determine the pumped charge, a non-Lindblad master equation beyond the rotating-wave approximation is necessary.

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