Related papers: Extracting work from quantum systems
Fluctuation theorems impose constraints on possible work extraction probabilities in thermodynamical processes. These constraints are stronger than the usual second law, which is concerned only with average values. Here, we show that such…
We introduce the resource-theoretic free energy of a quantum channel as the maximal work extractable from the channel as its output equilibrates to a thermal state and its reference system remains locally intact. It is proportional to the…
The second law of thermodynamics tells us which state transformations are so statistically unlikely that they are effectively forbidden. Its original formulation, due to Clausius, states that "Heat can never pass from a colder to a warmer…
In thermodynamics, quantum coherences - superpositions between energy eigenstates - behave in distinctly nonclassical ways. Recently mathematical frameworks have emerged to account for these features and have provided a range of novel…
Microcanonical thermodynamics studies the operations that can be performed on systems with well-defined energy. So far, this approach has been applied to classical and quantum systems. Here we extend it to arbitrary physical theories,…
Based only on classical Hamiltonian dynamics, we prove the maximum work principle in a system where macroscopic dynamical degrees of freedom are intrinsically coupled to microscopic degrees of freedom. Unlike recent identities between…
In this report I discuss fluctuation theorems and transient violations of the second law of thermodynamics in small systems. Special emphasis is placed on free-energy recovery methods in the framework of non-equilibrium single-molecule…
The resource theory of thermal operations explains the state transformations that are possible in a very specific thermodynamic setting: there is only one thermal bath, auxiliary systems can only be in corresponding thermal state (free…
We show that frequent nondemolition measurements of a quantum system immersed in a thermal bath allow the extraction of work in a closed cycle from the system-bath interaction (correlation) energy, a hitherto unexploited work resource. It…
Predicting future observations plays a central role in machine learning, biology, economics, and many other fields. It lies at the heart of organizational principles such as the variational free energy principle and has even been shown --…
It is a central question in quantum thermodynamics to determine how irreversible is a process that transforms an initial state $\rho$ to a final state $\sigma$, and whether such irreversibility can be thought of as a useful resource. For…
Events in mesoscopic systems often take place at first-passage times, as is for instance the case for a colloidal particle that escapes a metastable state. An interesting question is how much work an external agent has done on a particle…
A short introduction on quantum thermodynamics is given and three new topics are discussed: 1) Maximal work extraction from a finite quantum system. The thermodynamic prediction fails and a new, general result is derived, the ``ergotropy''.…
Work is a process-based quantity, and its measurement typically requires interaction with a measuring device multiple times. While classical systems allow for non-invasive and accurate measurements, quantum systems present unique challenges…
The theory of quantum thermodynamics predicts fundamental bounds on work extraction from quantum states. As these bounds are derived in a very general and abstract setting, it is unclear how relevant they are in an experimental context,…
Considering an entropy-based division of energy transferred into heat and work, we develop an alternative theoretical framework for the thermodynamic analysis of two-level systems. When comparing these results with those obtained under the…
Quantifying the ergotropy (a.k.a. available energy), namely the maximal amount of energy that can be extracted from a thermally isolated system, is a central problem in quantum thermodynamics. Notably, the same problem has been long studied…
Bio-molecules are active agents in that they consume energy to perform tasks. The standard theoretical description, however, considers only a system-external work agent. Fluctuation theorems, for example, do not allow work-exchange between…
Passive states, i.e., those states from which no work can be extracted via unitary operations, play an important role in the foundations and applications of quantum thermodynamics. They generalize the familiar Gibbs thermal states, which…
The work is a concept of fundamental importance in thermodynamics. An open question is how to describe the work fluctuation for quantum coherent processes in the presence of initial quantum coherence in the energy basis. With the aim of…