English

Fingerprints of classical memory in quantum hysteresis

Quantum Physics 2026-01-29 v1 Other Condensed Matter

Abstract

We present a simple framework for classical and quantum ``memory'' in which the Hamiltonian at time tt depends on past values of a control Hamiltonian through a causal kernel. This structure naturally describes finite-bandwidth or filtered control channels and provides a clean way to distinguish between memory in the control and genuine non-Markovian dynamics of the state. We focus on models where H(t)=H0+tK(ts)H1(s)dsH(t)=H_0+\int_{-\infty}^{t}K(t-s)\,H_1(s)\,ds, and illustrate the framework on single-qubit examples such as H(t)=σz+Φ(t)σxH(t)=\sigma_z+\Phi(t)\sigma_x with Φ(t)=tK(ts)u(s)ds\Phi(t)=\int_{-\infty}^{t}K(t-s)\,u(s)\,ds. We derive basic properties of such dynamics, discuss conditions for unitarity, give an equivalent time-local description for exponential kernels, and show explicitly how hysteresis arises in the response of a driven qubit.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2601.20287,
  title  = {Fingerprints of classical memory in quantum hysteresis},
  author = {Francesco Caravelli},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.20287},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

22 pages double column; 26 pages appendix