The quantum regression theorem for out-of-time-ordered correlation functions

Abstract

We derive an extension of the quantum regression theorem to calculate out-of-time-order correlation functions in Markovian open quantum systems. While so far mostly being applied in the analysis of many-body physics, we demonstrate that out-of-time-order correlation functions appear naturally in optical detection schemes with interferometric delay lines, and we apply our extended quantum regression theorem to calculate the non-trivial photon counting fluctuations in split and recombined signals from a quantum light source.