Quantum and classical Fokker-Planck equations for a Gaussian-Markovian noise bath

Abstract

The quantum Fokker-Planck equation for a Gaussian-Markovian bath is deduced by applying a method proposed by Tanimura and Kubo [J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 58, 101 (1989)]. The results are expressed in the form of simultaneous differential equations in terms of density operators and can treat strong system-bath interactions where the correlated effects of the noise play an important role. The classical Fokker-Planck equation for a Gaussian-Markovian noise is obtained by performing the Wigner transformation, and its equilibrium state is shown to be the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution. The method is convenient for numerical studies. Calculations for quantum-system harmonic oscillators and the double-well potential problems are demonstrated for cases of Gaussian-white noise and Gaussian-Markovian noise.