On the degree of non-Markovianity of quantum evolution

We propose a new characterization of non-Markovian quantum evolution based on the concept of non-Markovianity degree. It provides an analog of a Schmidt number in the entanglement theory and reveals the formal analogy between quantum evolution and the entanglement theory: Markovian evolution corresponds to a separable state and non-Markovian one is further characterized by its degree. It enables one to introduce a non-Markovinity witness – an analog of an entanglement witness – and a family of measures – an analog of Schmidt coefficients – and finally to characterize maximally non-Markovian evolution being an analog of maximally entangled state. Our approach allows to classify the non-Markovianity measures introduced so far in a unified rigorous mathematical framework.