TP Group - Pre-submission Thesis Presentation

Quantum systems are intrinsically open, continuously exchanging energy and information with their environment. Under external driving, they enter a driven–dissipative regime and typically do not relax to thermal equilibrium. Instead, the interplay of driving, dissipation, and interactions gives rise to nonequilibrium steady states at long times. Understanding these states is central to both fundamental physics and emerging quantum technologies. In this talk, I present theoretical studies of such nonequilibrium dynamics in optical and electronic quantum systems, with particular relevance to waveguide quantum electrodynamics (WQED), transport in mesoscopic quantum wires, and driven dynamics in hot atomic vapors. Within this framework, I will discuss several key phenomena: anomalous Lamb shifts in structured WQED; nonreciprocal transport in linear gain–loss systems without magnetic fields; the emergence of anti-PT symmetry and long-range coherence in synthetic dimensions of driven hot atomic vapors; and quantum interference governing transitions between reciprocal and nonreciprocal transport of few correlated photons in WQED. Together, these results reveal a rich landscape of driven–dissipative phenomena in simple quantum systems, many of which are accessible with current experimental platforms.