A recently proposed Markov approach provides Lindblad-type scattering superoperators, which ensure the physical (positive-definite) character of the many-body density matrix. We apply the mean-field approximation to such a many-body equation, in the presence of one- and two-body scattering mechanisms, and we derive a closed equation of motion for the electronic single-particle density matrix, which turns out to be nonlinear as well as non-Lindblad. We prove that, in spite of its nonlinear and non-Lindblad structure, the mean-field approximation does preserve the positive-definite character of the single-particle density matrix, an essential prerequisite of any reliable kinetic treatment of semiconductor quantum devices. This result is in striking contrast with conventional (non-Lindblad) Markov approaches, where the single-particle mean-field equations can lead to positivity violations and thus to unphysical results. Furthermore, the proposed single-particle formulation is extended to the case of quantum systems with spatial open boundaries, providing a formal derivation of a recently proposed density-matrix treatment based on a Lindblad-like system-reservoir scattering superoperator.

• Received 8 August 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.90.125140