Hydrodynamic limit and large deviations of reaction-diffusion master equations

We derive the hydrodynamic limit of a reaction-diffusion master equation, that combines an exclusion process with a reversible chemical master equation expression for the reaction rates. The crucial assumption is that the associated macroscopic reaction network has a detailed balance equilibrium. The hydrodynamic limit is given by a system of reaction-diffusion equations with a modified mass action law for the reaction rates. We provide the upper bound for large deviations of the empirical measure from the hydrodynamic limit

Hybrid quantum-classical modeling of quantum dot devices

The design of electrically driven quantum dot devices for quantum optical applications asks for modeling approaches combining classical device physics with quantum mechanics. We connect the well-established fields of semi-classical semiconductor transport theory and the theory of open quantum systems to meet this requirement. By coupling the van Roosbroeck system with a quantum master equation in Lindblad form, we introduce a new hybrid quantum-classical modeling approach, which provides a comprehensive description of quantum dot devices on multiple scales: It enables the calculation of quantum optical figures of merit and the spatially resolved simulation of the current flow in realistic semiconductor device geometries in a unified way. We construct the interface between both theories in such a way, that the resulting hybrid system obeys the fundamental axioms of (non-)equilibrium thermodynamics. We show that our approach guarantees the conservation of charge, consistency with the thermodynamic equilibrium and the second law of thermodynamics. The feasibility of the approach is demonstrated by numerical simulations of an electrically driven single-photon source based on a single quantum dot in the stationary and transient operation regime

Convergence to equilibrium in energy-reaction-diffusion systems using vector-valued functional inequalities

We discuss how the recently developed energy-dissipation methods for reactiondi usion systems can be generalized to the non-isothermal case. For this we use concave entropies in terms of the densities of the species and the internal energy, where the importance is that the equilibrium densities may depend on the internal energy. Using the log-Sobolev estimate and variants for lower-order entropies as well as estimates for the entropy production of the nonlinear reactions we give two methods to estimate the relative entropy by the total entropy production, namely a somewhat restrictive convexity method, which provides explicit decay rates, and a very general, but weaker compactness method

An entropic gradient structure for Lindblad equations and GENERIC for quantum systems coupled to macroscopic models

We show that all Lindblad operators (i.e. generators of quantum semigroups) on a finite-dimensional Hilbert space satisfying the detailed balance condition with respect to the thermal equilibrium state can be written as a gradient system with respect to the relative entropy. We discuss also thermodynamically consistent couplings to macroscopic systems, either as damped Hamiltonian systems with constant temperature or as GENERIC systems

Hybrid quantum-classical modeling of quantum dot devices

The design of electrically driven quantum dot devices for quantum optical applications asks for modeling approaches combining classical device physics with quantum mechanics. We connect the well-established fields of semi-classical semiconductor transport theory and the theory of open quantum systems to meet this requirement. By coupling the van Roosbroeck system with a quantum master equation in Lindblad form, we obtain a new hybrid quantum-classical modeling approach, which enables a comprehensive description of quantum dot devices on multiple scales: It allows the calculation of quantum optical figures of merit and the spatially resolved simulation of the current flow in realistic semiconductor device geometries in a unified way. We construct the interface between both theories in such a way, that the resulting hybrid system obeys the fundamental axioms of (non-)equilibrium thermodynamics. We show that our approach guarantees the conservation of charge, consistency with the thermodynamic equilibrium and the second law of thermodynamics. The feasibility of the approach is demonstrated by numerical simulations of an electrically driven single-photon source based on a single quantum dot in the stationary and transient operation regime

Mathematical modeling of semiconductors: From quantum mechanics to devices

We discuss recent progress in the mathematical modeling of semiconductor devices. The central result of this paper is a combined quantum-classical model that self-consistently couples van Roosbroeck's drift-diffusion system for classical charge transport with a Lindblad-type quantum master equation. The coupling is shown to obey fundamental principles of non-equilibrium thermodynamics. The appealing thermodynamic properties are shown to arise from the underlying mathematical structure of a damped Hamitlonian system, which is an isothermal version of so-called GENERIC systems. The evolution is governed by a Hamiltonian part and a gradient part involving a Poisson operator and an Onsager operator as geoemtric structures, respectively. Both parts are driven by the conjugate forces given in terms of the derivatives of a suitable free energy

Complex Intramolecular Mechanics of G-actin - An Elastic Network Study

Systematic numerical investigations of conformational motions in single actin molecules were performed by employing a simple elastic-network (EN) model of this protein. Similar to previous investigations for myosin, we found that G-actin essentially behaves as a strain sensor, responding by well-defined domain motions to mechanical perturbations. Several sensitive residues within the nucleotide-binding pocket (NBP) could be identified, such that the perturbation of any of them can induce characteristic flattening of actin molecules and closing of the cleft between their two mobile domains. Extending the EN model by introduction of a set of breakable links which become effective only when two domains approach one another, it was observed that G-actin can possess a metastable state corresponding to a closed conformation and that a transition to this state can be induced by appropriate perturbations in the NBP region. The ligands were roughly modeled as a single particle (ADP) or a dimer (ATP), which were placed inside the NBP and connected by elastic links to the neighbors. Our approximate analysis suggests that, when ATP is present, it stabilizes the closed conformation of actin. This may play an important role in the explanation why, in the presence of ATP, the polymerization process is highly accelerated

Multi-dimensional modeling and simulation of semiconductor nanophotonic devices

Self-consistent modeling and multi-dimensional simulation of semiconductor nanophotonic devices is an important tool in the development of future integrated light sources and quantum devices. Simulations can guide important technological decisions by revealing performance bottlenecks in new device concepts, contribute to their understanding and help to theoretically explore their optimization potential. The efficient implementation of multi-dimensional numerical simulations for computer-aided design tasks requires sophisticated numerical methods and modeling techniques. We review recent advances in device-scale modeling of quantum dot based single-photon sources and laser diodes by self-consistently coupling the optical Maxwell equations with semiclassical carrier transport models using semi-classical and fully quantum mechanical descriptions of the optically active region, respectively. For the simulation of realistic devices with complex, multi-dimensional geometries, we have developed a novel hp-adaptive finite element approach for the optical Maxwell equations, using mixed meshes adapted to the multi-scale properties of the photonic structures. For electrically driven devices, we introduced novel discretization and parameter-embedding techniques to solve the drift-diffusion system for strongly degenerate semiconductors at cryogenic temperature. Our methodical advances are demonstrated on various applications, including vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers, grating couplers and single-photon sources

Convergence to equilibrium in energy-reaction-diffusion systems using vector-valued functional inequalities : dedicated to Peter Markowich on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday

We discuss how the recently developed energy-dissipation methods for reaction-diffusion systems can be generalized to the non-isothermal case. For this we use concave entropies in terms of the densities of the species and the internal energy, with the important feature, that the equilibrium densities may depend on the internal energy. Using the log-Sobolev estimate and variants for lower-order entropies as well as estimates for the entropy production of the nonlinear reactions we give two methods to estimate the relative entropy by the total entropy production, namely a somewhat restrictive convexity method, which provides explicit decay rates, and a very general, but weaker compactness method