Abstract
By using the effective Hamiltonian approach, we present a self-consistent framework for the analysis of geometric phases and dynamically stable decoherence-free subspaces in open systems. Comparisons to the earlier works are made. This effective Hamiltonian approach is then extended to a non-Markovian case with the generalized Lindblad master equation. Based on this extended effective Hamiltonian approach, the non-Markovian master equation describing a dissipative two-level system is solved, an adiabatic evolution is defined, and the corresponding adiabatic condition is given.