Abstract
Relying only on first principles, we derive a master equation of Lindblad form generally applicable for adiabatically driven time-dependent systems. Our analysis shows that the much-debated secular approximation can be valid for slowly time-dependent Hamiltonians when performed in an appropriate basis. We apply our approach to the well-known Landau-Zener problem, where we find that adiabaticity is improved by coupling to a low-temperature environment.
- Received 10 August 2012
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.87.042111
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