Action principle and weak invariants

Abstract

A weak invariant associated with a master equation is characterized in such a way that its spectrum is not constant in time but its expectation value is conserved under time evolution generated by the master equation. Here, an intriguing relationship between the concept of weak invariants and the action principle for master equations based on the auxiliary operator formalism is revealed. It is shown that the auxiliary operator can be thought of as a weak invariant. Keywords: Weak invariants, Action principle, Auxiliary operator formalism