Sharif Digital Repository

We introduce a dynamical picture, referred to as correlation picture, which connects a correlated bipartite state to its uncorrelated counterpart. This picture allows us to derive an exact dynamical equation for a general open-system dynamics with system-environment correlations included. This exact dynamics is in the form of a Lindblad-like equation even in the presence of initial system-environment correlations. For explicit calculations, we also develop a weak-correlation expansion that allows us to introduce systematic perturbative approximations. This expansion provides approximate master equations that can feature advantages over existing weak-coupling techniques. As a special case, we...