Time-correlated blip dynamics of open quantum systems

The non-Markovian dynamics of open quantum systems is still a challenging task, particularly in the nonperturbative regime at low temperatures. While the stochastic Liouville-von Neumann equation (SLN) provides a formally exact tool to tackle this problem for both discrete and continuous degrees of freedom, its performance deteriorates for long times due to an inherently nonunitary propagator. Here we present a scheme that combines the SLN with projector operator techniques based on finite dephasing times, gaining substantial improvements in terms of memory storage and statistics. The approach allows for systematic convergence and is applicable in regions of parameter space where perturbative methods fail, up to the long-time domain. Findings are applied to the coherent and incoherent quantum dynamics of two-and three-level systems. In the long-time domain sequential and superexchange transfer rates are extracted and compared to perturbative predictions.