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Related papers: Quantum Maxwell's Demon in Thermodynamic Cycles

200 papers

In Szilard's engine, a demon measures a one-particle gas and applies feedback to extract work from thermal fluctuations, embodying Maxwell's notion that information reduces thermodynamic entropy - an apparent second-law violation. The…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2025-08-26 Xiangjun Xing

Subsystems of a composite system in a pure state generally exist in mixed states and undergo changes with the overall state. This phenomenon arises from the coherence of the entire system and represents a crucial distinction between quantum…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2024-04-04 Zi-Yan Zhang , Jian-Ying Du , Fu-Lin Zhang

We propose a new inequality that we call the conditional ageing inequality (CAIN). The CAIN is a slight generalization to non-equilibrium situations of the Second Law of thermodynamics. The goal of this paper is to study the consequences of…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2013-01-08 Robert R. Tucci

We review theory of information thermodynamics which incorporates effects of measurement and feedback into nonequilibrium thermodynamics of a small system, and discuss how the second law of thermodynamics should be extended for such…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2012-02-07 Takahiro Sagawa , Masahito Ueda

We present a thermodynamic analysis of a quantum engine that uses a single quantum particle as its working fluid, inspired by Szilard's classical single-particle engine. Our design is modeled after the classically-chaotic Szilard Map and…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2023-05-11 Srinivasa Rao. P

The problem of possible violation of the second law of thermodynamics is discussed. It is noted that the task of the well known challenge to the second law called Maxwell's demon is put in order a chaotic perpetual motion and if any ordered…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2009-11-10 V. V. Aristov , A. V. Nikulov

The long-standing paradigm of Maxwell's demon is till nowadays a frequently investigated issue, which still provides interesting insights into basic physical questions. Considering a single-electron transistor, where we implement a Maxwell…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2018-02-08 G. Engelhardt , G. Schaller

We propose a new thermodynamic equality and several inequalities concerning the relationship between work and information for an isothermal process with Maxwell's demon. Our approach is based on the formulation a la Jarzynski of the…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2007-05-23 Takahiro Sagawa , Masahito Ueda

We investigate coupled-qubit-based thermal machines powered by quantum measurements and feedback. We consider two different versions of the machine: 1) a quantum Maxwell's demon where the coupled-qubit system is connected to a detachable…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2023-05-03 Bibek Bhandari , Robert Czupryniak , Paolo Andrea Erdman , Andrew N. Jordan

With the approaching second quantum revolution, the study of quantum thermodynamics, particularly heat flow, has become even more relevant for two main reasons. First, understanding heat and other types of noise is essential for protecting…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2024-01-25 Kasper Poulsen

We study a quantum Szilard engine that is not powered by heat drawn from a thermal reservoir, but rather by projective measurements. The engine is constituted of a system $\mathcal{S}$, a weight $\mathcal{W}$, and a Maxwell demon…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2017-11-17 M. Hamed Mohammady , Janet Anders

Thought experiments like Maxwell's Demon or the Feynman-Smoluchowski Ratchet can help in pursuing the microscopic origin of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Here we present a more sophisticated physical system than a ratchet, consisting of…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2025-09-10 Simon Bienewald , Diego Marcel Fieguth , James R. Anglin

We report two results complementing the second law of thermodynamics for Markovian open quantum systems coupled to multiple reservoirs with different temperatures and chemical potentials. First, we derive a nonequilibrium free energy…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2019-04-18 Krzysztof Ptaszynski , Massimiliano Esposito

In this highly speculative Letter it is argued that, under certain physical conditions, Maxwell's demon might be capable of breaking the second law of thermodynamics, thereby allowing a perpetual motion machine of the second kind, by…

General Physics · Physics 2011-05-25 Karl Svozil

In a classic thought experiment, Szilard suggested a heat engine where a single particle, for example an atom or a molecule, is confined in a container coupled to a single heat bath. The container can be separated into two parts by a…

A quantum mechanical Maxwell demon is proposed in a quantum dot setting. The demon avoids continuous-measurement induced decoherence by exploiting an undetailed charge detector. The control of coherent tunneling via…

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics · Physics 2026-03-10 Lucas Trigal , Rafael Sánchez

Maxwell demons are creatures that are imagined to be able to reduce the entropy of a system without performing any work on it. Conventionally, such a Maxwell demon's intricate action consists of measuring individual particles and…

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics · Physics 2019-12-09 Rafael Sánchez , Janine Splettstoesser , Robert S. Whitney

This is a review of the theory of quantum thermodynamic demons; these are quantum systems that look like they violate the laws of thermodynamics, in analogy with Maxwell's demon. It concentrates on autonomous demons that can be made using…

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics · Physics 2023-04-07 Robert S. Whitney

For an understanding of a heat engine working in the microscopic scale, it is often necessary to estimate the amount of reversible work extracted by isothermal expansion of the quantum gas used as its working substance. We consider an…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2015-05-04 Minho Park , Su Do Yi , Seung Ki Baek

Classical and quantum electronic circuits provide ideal platforms to investigate stochastic thermodynamics and they have served as a stepping stone to realize Maxwell's demons with highly controllable protocols. In this article we first…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2024-01-24 J. P. Pekola , I. M. Khaymovich