Collision models: Markovian and Non-Markovian impurity models

Abstract

Collision models provide a flexible framework for studying open quantum systems and introducing non-Markovianity. We present a novel class of collision models, which we term Markovian impurity models, motivated by physical scenarios in which information backflow is periodically blocked. Using the Breuer-Laine-Piilo (BLP) measure of non-Markovianity, we show that if a $p$-impurity model is non-Markovian, then the corresponding $(p+1)$-impurity model is also non-Markovian, implying the existence of a critical $p$ at which the process transitions from Markovian to non-Markovian. Numerical simulations are used to investigate how this critical parameter depends on the system-ancilla and ancilla-ancilla interaction strengths. We find that, altough exceptions exist, increasing either interaction strength generally lowers the critical $p$, while sufficiently weak ancilla-ancilla interactions lead to a regime in which the dynamics remain Markovian even in the absence of impurities. Finally, we briefly introduce the complementary non-Markovian impurity model.