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Abstract

The stroboscopic evolution of a time-periodically driven isolated quantum system can always be described by an effective time-independent Hamiltonian. Whether this concept can be generalized to open Floquet systems, described by a Markovian Lindblad master equation with a time-periodic generator (Lindbladian), remains an open question. By using a two-level system as a model, we explicitly show the existence of two well-defined parameter regions. In one region the stroboscopic evolution can be described by a Markovian master equation with a time-independent Floquet Lindbladian. In the other it cannot; but here the one-cycle evolution operator can be reproduced with an effective non-Markovian master equation that is homogeneous but nonlocal in time. Interestingly, we find that the boundary between the phases depends on when during the period the evolution is stroboscopically monitored. This reveals the nontrivial role played by the micromotion in the dynamics of open Floquet systems.