English

Lecture notes on classical and quantum non-Markovianity

Quantum Physics 2026-07-08 v1

Abstract

The study of non-Markovian quantum processes has attracted significant interest in recent decades, giving rise to several competing notions of quantum non-Markovianity. These notes serve as an introduction to the topic for graduate students familiar with quantum mechanics and probability theory. Owing to the vastness of the literature, we focus on two prominent characterizations of quantum Markovianity based on the divisibility of quantum channels and monotonically decreasing state distinguishability. The correspondence between classical concepts (stochastic matrices, Chapman-Kolmogorov equation) and their quantum analogs (dynamical maps, CP-divisibility) is emphasized throughout.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2607.07332,
  title  = {Lecture notes on classical and quantum non-Markovianity},
  author = {Graeme Pleasance},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2607.07332},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

40 pages, 3 figures. Invited submission to Lectures from the 33rd Chris Engelbrecht Summer School, Stellenbosch 2025