SEMINAR 2026
Open quantum systems: spectrum, dynamics, and topology
| Speaker | Asst/Prof Shu Zhang, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Japan |
| Date/Time | Tuesday, 28 Apr, 3pm |
| Location | S11-02-07 Conference Room |
| Host | Asst/Prof Zhang Yang |
Abstract
Open quantum systems incorporate dissipative processes into quantum dynamics, leading to a rich variety of phenomena absent in isolated systems. In this talk, I will discuss several recent theoretical developments from the intertwined viewpoints of spectrum, dynamics, and topology. Beginning with a minimal single-spin model, I will show how dissipative quantum dynamics can support nonlinear attractors such as limit cycles, and how these emergent behaviors are encoded in the Liouvillian spectrum. I will then consider coupled-spin settings, where reservior-mediated dissipative interactions can lead to entanglement generation and nonreciprocal transport, the latter closely linked to spectral winding topology. Finally, I will discuss a general framework for the topology of density matrices, together with possible interferometric routes to probe it.
Biography
Shu Zhang is an Assistant Professor at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, leading the research unit “Collective Dynamics and Quantum Transport”. She obtained her Ph.D. in theoretical condensed matter physics from Johns Hopkins in 2019 and was a Graduate Fellow at Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics in University of California, Santa Barbara. She has previously held academic positions as a postdoc in University of California, Los Angeles, a Distinguished PKS Postdoctoral Fellow at Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, and a Junior Group Leader in Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research, Dresden, Germany. Her research focuses on emergent dynamic and transport phenomena in quantum materials and platforms.
