Mean-field dynamics of a Bose-Hubbard chain coupled to a non-Markovian environment

Abstract

We study the dynamics of an interacting Bose-Hubbard chain coupled to a non-Markovian environment. Our basic tool is the reduced generating functional expressed as a path integral over spin-coherent states. We calculate the leading contribution to the corresponding effective action, and by minimizing it, we derive mean-field equations that can be numerically solved. With this tool at hand, we examine the influence of the system's initial conditions and interparticle interactions on the dissipative dynamics. Moreover, we investigate the presence of memory effects due to the non-Markovian environment.