Characterizing Quantum Dynamics with Initial System-Environment Correlations

We fully characterize the reduced dynamics of an open quantum system initially correlated with its environment. Using a photonic qubit coupled to a simulated environment, we tomographically reconstruct a superchannel-a generalized channel that treats preparation procedures as inputs-from measurement of the system alone. We introduce novel quantitative measures for determining the strength of initial correlations, and to allow an experiment to be optimized in regard to its environment.