Inequality for von Neumann entropy change under measurement and dissipation
Abstract
We derive a universal inequality that provides a lower bound on the ensemble-averaged von Neumann entropy change in a quantum system subject to continuous measurement and dissipation. Our result clarifies how entropy production is fundamentally constrained by three distinct contributions: (i) the non-Hermitian structure of the dissipation operator, (ii) the standard variance associated with measurement-induced fluctuations, and (iii) a generalized quantum variance reflecting the noncommutativity between the measurement observable and the quantum state. This third term vanishes when the state and observable commute, and thus represents a purely quantum contribution arising from coherence disturbance and measurement backaction. The derived inequality generalizes classical information-thermodynamic relations, such as the Sagawa--Ueda inequality, to the quantum regime, providing a new perspective on the trade-offs between information acquisition, control, and entropy production in continuously monitored open quantum systems.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2506.12603,
title = {Inequality for von Neumann entropy change under measurement and dissipation},
author = {Kohei Kobayashi},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2506.12603},
year = {2025}
}
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5 pages, 0 figures