Abstract

We address the problem of establishing which is the proper form of quantum master equation generating a survival probability identical to that corresponding to the nonergodic sequence of "light on" and "light off" fluorescence fluctuations in blinking quantum dots. We adopt a theoretical perspective based on the assumption that the abrupt transitions from the light on to light off state are the results of many collisions between system and environment, properly described by the Lindblad equation, and that between two consecutive collisions the system dynamics are frozen. This generates a quantum master equation belonging to the recently proposed class of generalized Lindblad equations, with a time convoluted structure, involving in the specific case of this paper both the unitary and the nonunitary contribution of the Lindblad equation. This is the property that under the low-frequency condition makes the new class of generalized Lindblad equation generates the required survival probability. We make the conjecture that this equation corresponds to the cooperative dynamics of many units that, in isolation, are described by the ordinary Lindblad equation. When the time scale of the unitary term of the Lindblad equation is shorter than the dephasing time, the cooperation generates a surprisingly extended macroscopic coherence. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.