Open quantum systems with noncommuting coupling operators: An analytic approach

We present an analytic approach to treat open quantum systems strongly coupled to multiple environments via noncommuting system operators: a prime example is a qubit concurrently coupled to both decohering and dissipative baths. Our approach, which accommodates strong system-bath couplings, generalizes the recently (2023)] to handle couplings to baths via noncommuting system operators. Our approach creates an effective Hamiltonian that reveals the cooperative effect of the baths on the system. For a spin impurity coupled to both dissipative and decohering environments, the effective Hamiltonian predicts the suppression of relaxation by decoherence, a phenomenon previously observed in simulations but lacking so far a theoretical foundation. We also apply the method to an ensemble of spins coupled to local baths through noncommuting operators, demonstrating the engineering of the Kitaev XY spin chain interaction. Noncommutativity is a feature of quantum systems; future prospects of our approach include the study of thermal machines that leverage such genuine quantum effects.