Thermalization in Spatially Extended Open Quantum Systems: Local versus Global Markovian Evolution

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2605.25760v1
• Date: Mon, 25 May 2026 12:13:59 GMT
• Title: Thermalization in Spatially Extended Open Quantum Systems: Local versus Global Markovian Evolution
• Abstract summary: We investigate the dynamics of a qubit chain locally coupled to a thermal reservoir.<n>The resulting Lindblad equation is thermodynamically consistent under suitable conditions.<n>This framework reveals a crossover between the global Lindblad equation and the local dissipative models often employed in the literature.
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• License: http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/
• Abstract: We investigate the dynamics of a qubit chain locally coupled to a thermal reservoir, modeled through repeated collisions with particles drawn from a heat bath. Under suitable conditions, the resulting Lindblad equation is thermodynamically consistent -- it drives the system toward thermal equilibrium -- while remaining local at short times. This framework reveals a crossover between the global Lindblad equation derived from the secular approximation in weak-coupling theory and the local dissipative models often employed in the literature, which generally fail to ensure thermodynamic consistency.

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