Kinetic theory for quantum nanosystems

Abstract

In this thesis, we investigate the emergence of kinetic processes in finite quantum systems. We first generalize the Redfield theory to describe the dynamics of a small quantum system weakly interacting with an environment of finite heat capacity. We then study in detail the spin-GORM model, a model made of a two-level system interacting with a random matrix environment. By doing this, we verify our new theory and find a critical size of the environment over which kinetic processes occur. We finally study the emergence of a diffusive transport process, on a finite tight-binding subsystem interacting with a fast environment, when the size of subsystem exceeds a critical value.

PhD thesis presented at the ULB (Free University of Brussels) the 23th of September 2004