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  • Letter
  • Open Access

Entanglement transitions in a boundary-driven open quantum many-body system

Darvin Wanisch1,2,3, Nora Reinić1,2,3, Daniel Jaschke1,2,3,4, Simone Montangero1,2,3, and Pietro Silvi1,2,3

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Phys. Rev. Research 8, L012018 – Published 22 January, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/tp2l-fvhl

Abstract

We introduce a numerical framework for integrating Markovian dynamics on tree tensor operator ansatz states. This framework enables the simulation of both transient and steady-state regimes of systems governed by the Lindblad master equation, while preserving positivity of the density matrix and providing direct access to entanglement monotones. We demonstrate its capability to probe entanglement in open quantum many-body systems and to distinguish it from other correlations by studying a boundary-driven XXZ spin chain. Our analysis uncovers entanglement transitions driven by both the coupling to the environment and the anisotropy, revealing a striking connection between spatial entanglement scaling and spin current.

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Phys. Rev. Research 8, L012018– Published 22 January, 2026
  • Received 20 March 2025
  • Accepted 10 November 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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