Linear and non-linear response of quadratic Lindbladians

Quadratic Lindbladians encompass a rich class of dissipative electronic and bosonic quantum systems, which have been predicted to host new and exotic physics. In this study, we develop a Lindblad-Keldysh spectroscopic response formalism for open quantum systems that elucidates their steady-state response properties and dissipative phase transitions via finite-frequency linear and non-linear probes. As illustrative examples, we utilize this formalism to calculate the (1) density and dynamic spin susceptibilities of a boundary driven XY model at and near criticality, (2) linear and non-linear optical responses in Bernal bilayer graphene coupled to dissipative leads, and (3) steady state susceptibilities in a bosonic optical lattice. We find that the XY model spin density wavelength diverges with critical exponent 1/2, and there are gapless dispersive modes in the dynamic spin response that originate from the underlying spin density wave order; additionally the dispersing modes of the weak and ultra-strong dissipation limits exhibit a striking correspondence since the boundary dissipators couple only weakly to the bulk in both cases. In the optical response of the Bernal bilayer, we find that the diamagnetic response can decrease with increasing occupation, as opposed to in closed systems where the response increases monotonically with occupation; we study the effect of second harmonic generation and shift current and find that these responses, forbidden in centrosymmetric closed systems, can manifest in these open systems as a result of dissipation. We compare this formalism to its equilibrium counterpart and draw analogies between these non-interacting open systems and strongly interacting closed systems.