Accuracy of the quantum regression theorem for photon emission from a quantum dot

Abstract: The quantum regression theorem (QRT) is the most-widely used tool for calculating multitime correlation functions for the assessment of quantum emitters. It is an approximate method based on a Markov assumption for the environmental coupling. In this work we quantify properties of photons emitted from a single quantum dot coupled to phonons. For the single-photon purity and the indistinguishability, we compare numerically exact path-integral results with those obtained from the QRT. It is demonstrated that the QRT systematically overestimates the influence of the environment for typical quantum dots used in quantum information technology.