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Abstract

We derive the semi-classical Lindblad master equation in phase space for both canonical and non-canonical Poisson brackets using the Wigner-Moyal formalism and the Moyal star-product. The semi-classical limit for canonical dynamical variables, i.e. canonical Poisson brackets, is the Fokker-Planck equation, as derived before. We generalize this limit and show that it holds also for non-canonical Poisson brackets. Examples are gyro-Poisson brackets, which occur in spin ensembles, systems of recent interest in atomic physics and quantum optics. We show that the equations of motion for the collective spin variables are given by the Bloch equations of nuclear magnetization with relaxation. The Bloch and relaxation vectors are expressed in terms of the microscopic operators: the Hamiltonian and the Lindblad functions in the Wigner-Moyal formalism.