On the Properties of nonMarkovian Master Equations - James Cresser

All physical systems are to some extent open, and as a consequence the dynamics of such systems must be described in terms of a master equation. It is commonly the case that the master equation can be derived under the Born-Markov approximation, in which case the Markovian equation so derived assumes a particular form known as the Lindblad form. Lindblad master equations are much studied and an enormous amount is known about them. The situation is less clear in the non-Markovian case. In this talk, a review is given of some of the properties of non-Markov master equations, their derivation, interpretation and some properties of their solutions.