We define the transient and recurrent parts of a quantum Markov semigroup 𝓣 on a von Neumann algebra 𝓐 and we show that, when 𝓐 is σ-finite, we can write 𝓣 as the sum of such semigroups. Moreover, if 𝓣 is the countable direct sum of irreducible semigroups each with a unique faithful normal invariant state ρₙ, we find conditions under which any normal invariant state is a convex combination of ρₙ's.

Quantum detailed balance conditions are often formulated as relationships between the generator of a quantum Markov semigroup and the generator of a dual semigroup with respect to a certain scalar product defined by an invariant state. In this paper we survey some results describing the structure of norm continuous quantum Markov semigroups on ℬ(h) satisfying a quantum detailed balance condition when the duality is defined by means of pre-scalar products on ℬ(h) of the form $⟨x,y{⟩}_s:=tr({\rho }^{1-s}x*{\rho }^{s}y)$ (s ∈ [0,1]) in order...