Quantum master equations for entangled qubit environments

Abstract

We study the Markovian dynamics of a collection of n quantum systems coupled to an irreversible environmental channel consisting of a stream of n entangled qubits. Within the framework of repeated quantum interactions, we derive the master equation that describes the dynamics of the composite quantum system. We investigate the evolution of the joint system for two-qubit environments and find that (1) the presence of antidiagonal coherences (in the local basis) in the environment is a necessary condition for entangling two remote systems, and (2) that maximally entangled two-qubit baths are an exceptional point without a unique steady state. For the general case of n-qubit environments we show that coherences in maximally entangled baths (when expressed in the local energy basis), do not affect the system evolution in the weak coupling regime