The response of a quantum system to a collision: an autonomous derivation of Kubo's formula

Abstract

We study the response of a quantum system induced by a collision with a quantum particle, using the time-independent framework of scattering theory. After deriving the dynamical map for the quantum system, we show that it encodes a non-perturbative response function obeying a general fluctuation-dissipation relation. We show that Kubo's formula emerges autonomously in the Born approximation, where the time-dependent perturbation is determined by particle's evolution through the potential region.

Final version, published in Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical. Added a discussion connecting our results with the literature on quantum master equations, as well a numerical example of our results. 15 pages, 1 figure