Range of applicability of the Hu-Paz-Zhang master equation

Abstract: We investigate a case of the Hu-Paz-Zhang master equation of the Caldeira-Leggett model without Lindblad form obtained in the weak-coupling limit up to the second-order perturbation. In our study, we use Gaussian initial states to be able to employ a sufficient and necessary condition, which can expose positivity violations of the density operator during the time evolution. We demonstrate that the evolution of the non-Markovian master equation has problems when the stationary solution is not a positive operator, i.e., does not have physical interpretation. We also show that solutions always remain physical for small-times of evolution. Moreover, we identify a strong anomalous behavior, when the trace of the solution is diverging. We also provide results for the corresponding Markovian master equation and show that positivity violations occur for various types of initial conditions even when the stationary solution is a positive operator. Based on our numerical results, we conclude that this non-Markovian master equation is superior to the corresponding Markovian one.