Quantum Random Walks with General Particle States

A convergence theorem is obtained for quantum random walks with particles in an arbitrary normal state. This unifies and extends previous work on repeated-interactions models, including that of Attal and Pautrat (Ann Henri Poincaré 7:59–104 2006 ) and Belton (J Lond Math Soc 81:412–434, 2010 ; Commun Math Phys 300:317–329, 2010 ). When the random-walk generator acts by ampliation and either multiplication or conjugation by a unitary operator, it is shown that the quantum stochastic cocycle which arises in the limit is driven by a unitary process.