Open Quantum Dynamics Theory of Spin Relaxation: Application to $\mu$SR and Low-Field NMR Spectroscopies

An open quantum system refers to a system, which is in turn coupled to an environment that can describe time irreversible dynamics through which the system evolves toward the thermal equilibrium state. We present a quantum mechanically rigorous theory in order to help an analysis of spectra obtained from the advanced nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and muon spin rotation, relaxation or resonance ($\mu$SR) techniques. Our approach is based on the numerically “exact” hierarchical equations of motion (HEOM) approach, which allows us to study the reduced system dynamics for non-perturbative and non-Markovian system-bath interactions at finite temperature even under strong time-dependent perturbations. We demonstrate the present theory to analyze $\mu$SR and low-field NMR spectra, as an extension of the Kubo-Toyabe theory focusing on the effects of temperature and anisotropy of a local magnetic field, to help further the development of these experimental means.