English

Quantum fluctuation theorems for arbitrary environments: adiabatic and non-adiabatic entropy production

Quantum Physics 2018-08-08 v2 Statistical Mechanics

Abstract

We analyze the production of entropy along non-equilibrium processes in quantum systems coupled to generic environments. First, we show that the entropy production due to final measurements and the loss of correlations obeys a fluctuation theorem in detailed and integral forms. Second, we discuss the decomposition of the entropy production into two positive contributions, adiabatic and non-adiabatic, based on the existence of invariant states of the local dynamics. Fluctuation theorems for both contributions hold only for evolutions verifying a specific condition of quantum origin. We illustrate our results with three relevant examples of quantum thermodynamic processes far from equilibrium.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1710.00054,
  title  = {Quantum fluctuation theorems for arbitrary environments: adiabatic and non-adiabatic entropy production},
  author = {Gonzalo Manzano and Jordan M. Horowitz and Juan M. R. Parrondo},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1710.00054},
  year   = {2018}
}

Comments

20 pages + 6 of appendices; 7 figures; v2: New example added (example A) and some minor corrections; accepted in Phys. Rev. X