Projection operator approach to master equations for coarse grained occupation numbers in non-ideal quantum gases

Abstract: We aim at deriving an equation of motion for specific sums of momentum mode occupation numbers from models for electrons in periodic lattices experiencing elastic scattering, electron-phonon scattering or electron-electron scattering. These sums correspond to "grains" in momentum space. This equation of motion is supposed to involve only a moderate number of dynamical variables and/or exhibit a sufficiently simple structure such that neither its construction nor its analyzation/solution requires substantial numerical effort. To this we end compute, by means of a projection operator technique, a linear(ized) collision term which determines the dynamics of the above grain-sums. This collision term results as non-singular, finite dimensional rate matrix and may thus be inverted regardless of any symmetry of the underlying model. This facilitates calculations of, e.g., transport coefficients, as we demonstrate for a 3-dim. Anderson model featuring weak disorder.