Structure of quantum stochastic processes with finite Markov order

Non-Markovian quantum processes exhibit different memory effects when measured in different ways; an
unambiguous characterization of memory length requires accounting for the sequence of instruments applied
to probe the system dynamics. This instrument-specific notion of quantum Markov order displays stark
differences to its classical counterpart. Here, we explore the structure of quantum stochastic processes with
finite memory length in detail. We begin by examining a generalized collision model with memory, before
framing this instance within the general theory. We detail the constraints that are placed on the underlying
system-environment dynamics for a process to exhibit finite Markov order with respect to natural classes
of probing instruments, including deterministic (unitary) operations and sequences of generalized quantum
measurements with informationally complete repreparations. Lastly, we show how processes with vanishing
quantum conditional mutual information form a special case of the theory. Throughout, we provide a number of
representative, pedagogical examples to display the salient features of memory effects in quantum processes