Open systems viewed through their conservative extensions (Q867042)

The authors address the study of open quantum systems, seen as subsystems of a conservative system, relying on the notion of minimal conservative extension of an open system they introduced in the previous work [\textit{A. Figotin} and \textit{J. H. Schenker}, J. Stat. Phys. 118, No. 1--2, 199--263 (2005; Zbl 1130.82021)]. In particular they characterize the minimal conservative extension in view of the modes of the open system and the coupling to the external system. They show by considering a possible model of solid that has frozen degrees of freedom how a high degree of symmetry in the system results in many motions of the system being unaffected by coupling to another system. They further provide a theorem that quantifies how the multiplicity of the modes of a system that are affected by the coupling to another system is bounded by the rank of the coupling.