Related papers: Metastability Driven by Soft Quantum Fluctuation M…
There is evidence that taking the time average of the work performed by a thermally isolated system effectively "transforms" the adiabatic process into an isothermal one. This approach allows inherent quantities of adiabatic processes to be…
Path integrals are usually formulated in discrete Euclidean time using the Trotter formula. We propose a new method to study discrete quantum systems, in which we work directly in the Euclidean time continuum. The method is of general…
We consider the quantum creation of a closed universe within the Euclidean path-integral formalism. An analytical expression for the tunneling probability is derived, including both the exponential suppression and the exact Gaussian…
Schemes of gravitationally induced decoherence are being actively investigated as possible mechanisms for the quantum-to-classical transition. Here, we introduce a decoherence process due to quantum gravity effects. We assume a foamy…
The first-principle theory of electron dephasing by disorder-induced two state fluctuators is developed. There exist two mechanisms of dephasing. First, dephasing occurs due to direct transitions between the defect levels caused by…
The partition function of a quantum statistical system in flat space can always be written as an integral over a classical Boltzmann factor $\exp[ -\beta V^{\rm eff cl({\bf x}_0)]$, where $V^{\rm eff cl({\bf x}_0)$ is the so-called…
Stochastic thermodynamics as reviewed here systematically provides a framework for extending the notions of classical thermodynamics like work, heat and entropy production to the level of individual trajectories of well-defined…
Adiabatic processes are important for studying the dynamics of a time-dependent system. Conventionally, the adiabatic processes can only be achieved by varying the system slowly. We speed up both classical and quantum adiabatic processes by…
A quantum dot is a sub-micron-scale conducting device containing up to several thousand electrons. Transport through a quantum dot at low temperatures is a quantum-coherent process. This review focuses on dots in which the electron's…
We review a semi-classical transport theory for non-Abelian plasmas based on a classical picture of coloured point particles. Within this formalism, kinetic equations for the mean particle distribution, the mean fields and their…
Quantum coherence profoundly alters classical thermodynamic expectations by modifying the structure and accessibility of probability distributions. Classically, transitions to lower-entropy states (local second-law violations) are…
We revisit the problem of inelastic times governing the temperature behavior of the weak localization correction and mesoscopic fluctuations in one- and two-dimensional systems. It is shown that, for dephasing by the electron electron…
We present an approach to extend plasma transport theory into the Warm Dense Matter (WDM) regime characterized by moderate Coulomb coupling and electron degeneracy. It is based on a recently proposed closure of the BBGKY hierarchy that…
The Brownian motion of a light quantum particle in a heavy classical gas is theoretically described and a new expression for the friction coefficient is obtained for arbitrary temperature. At zero temperature it equals to the de Broglie…
We calculate the decay rate for a state prepared in a thermal density matrix centered on a metastable ground state. We find a rate that is intrinsically time {\it dependent}, as opposed to the {\it constant} rates of previous works. The…
We implement in systems of fermions the formalism of pseudoclassical paths that we recently developed for systems of bosons and show that quantum states of fermionic fields can be described, in the Heisenberg picture, as linear combinations…
Heat fluctuations over a time \tau in a non-equilibrium stationary state and in a transient state are studied for a simple system with deterministic and stochastic components: a Brownian particle dragged through a fluid by a harmonic…
We compute the partition function and specific heat for a quantum mechanical particle under the influence of a quartic double-well potential non-perturbatively, using the semiclassical method. Near the region of bounded motion in the…
We investigate the metastability of scalar fields in quantum field theories at finite temperature, focusing on a detailed understanding of the bounce solution. At finite temperature, the bounce solution depends on two variables: the…
We propose a method to evaluate general thermodynamic fluctuations in open quantum systems, based on performing a two-point measurement scheme on the system using dynamics-dependent thermodynamic observables. Our approach allows one to…