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Related papers: Work extraction and thermodynamics for individual …

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We study the modification of the second law of thermodynamics for a quantum system interacting with a reservoir regarding quantum coherence. The whole system is isolated so that neither energy nor information is lost. It is discovered that…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2021-10-12 Yu-Han Ma , C. L. Liu , C. P. Sun

After a brief historical perspective, we introduce the key notions of work and heat for quantum systems, to then apply them to quantum engines operating on quantum Otto and Carnot cycles. The irreversible and dissipative character of the…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2026-01-01 Camille L Latune

Evaluating the maximum amount of work extractable from a nanoscale quantum system is one of the central problems in quantum thermodynamics. Previous works identified the free energy of the input state as the optimal rate of extractable work…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2026-03-06 Kaito Watanabe , Ryuji Takagi

The second law of thermodynamics, formulated as an ultimate bound on the maximum extractable work, has been rigorously derived in multiple scenarios. However, the unavoidable limitations that emerge due to the lack of control on small…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2016-04-27 H. Wilming , R. Gallego , J. Eisert

We analyze work extraction protocols using the long-lived quantum coherence of a three-level quantum system, which is coupled to a thermal bath through dipole-monopole interactions. We identify situations where persistent quantum coherence…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2025-08-05 Wenjing Chen , Si-Wei Han , Xiaoshan Feng , Jun Feng

Quantum thermodynamics allows for the interconversion of quantum coherence and mechanical work. Quantum coherence is thus a potential physical resource for quantum machines. However, formulating a general nonequilibrium thermodynamics of…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2025-11-05 Franklin L. S. Rodrigues , Eric Lutz

Passivity is a fundamental concept in thermodynamics that demands a quantum system's energy cannot be lowered by any reversible, unitary process acting on the system. In the limit of many such systems, passivity leads in turn to the concept…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2017-12-14 Carlo Sparaciari , David Jennings , Jonathan Oppenheim

Quantum thermodynamic process involves manipulating and controlling quantum states to extract energy or perform computational tasks with high efficiency. There is still no efficientgeneral method to theoretically quantify the effect of the…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2024-06-21 Ming-Xing Luo

Traditional quantum thermodynamic frameworks associate work to energy exchanges induced by unitary transformations generated by external controls, and heat to energy exchanges induced by bath interaction. Recently, a framework was…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2026-01-06 Tiago F. F. Santos , Camille Latune

We present a protocol for the study of the dynamics and thermodynamics of quantum systems strongly coupled to a bath and subject to an external modulation. Our protocol quantifies the evolution of the system-bath composite by expanding the…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2018-10-24 Wenjie Dou , Maicol A. Ochoa , Abraham Nitzan , Joseph E. Subotnik

We consider locally thermal states (for two qubits) with certain amount of quantum entanglement present between them. Unlike previous protocols we show how work can be extracted by performing local unitary operations on this state by…

Constructing optimal thermodynamic processes in quantum systems relies on managing the balance between the average excess work and its stochastic fluctuations. Recently it has been shown that two different quantum generalisations of…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2021-12-06 Mohammad Mehboudi , Harry J. D. Miller

We consider continuously monitored quantum systems and introduce definitions of work and heat along individual quantum trajectories that are valid for coherent superpositions of energy eigenstates. We use these quantities to extend the…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2016-03-22 Jose Joaquin Alonso , Eric Lutz , Alessandro Romito

The second law of thermodynamics uses change in free energy of macroscopic systems to set a bound on performed work. Ergotropy plays a similar role in microscopic scenarios, and is defined as the maximum amount of energy that can be…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2022-10-19 Tanmoy Biswas , Marcin Łobejko , Paweł Mazurek , Konrad Jałowiecki , Michał Horodecki

With the progress of nano-technology, thermodynamics also has to be scaled down, calling for specific protocols to extract and measure work. Usually, such protocols involve the action of an external, classical field (the battery) of…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2016-08-09 Cyril Elouard , Maxime Richard , Alexia Auffèves

We consider the problem of finding the energy minimum of a complex quantum Hamiltonian by employing a non-Markovian bath prepared in a low energy state. The energy minimization problem is thus turned into a thermodynamic cooling protocol in…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2024-03-29 Alberto Imparato , Nicholas Chancellor , Gabriele De Chiara

We revisit the problem of work extraction from a system in contact with a heat bath to a work storage system, and the reverse problem of state formation from a thermal system state in single-shot quantum thermodynamics. A physically…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2017-12-18 Shang-Yung Wang

The thermodynamics of quantum systems coupled to periodically modulated heat baths and work reservoirs is developed. By identifying affinities and fluxes, the first and second law are formulated consistently. In the linear response regime,…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2016-06-29 Kay Brandner , Udo Seifert

We apply advanced methods of control theory to open quantum systems and we determine finite-time processes which are optimal with respect to thermodynamic performances. General properties and necessary conditions characterizing optimal…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2018-08-01 Vasco Cavina , Andrea Mari , Alberto Carlini , Vittorio Giovannetti

Quantum thermal states are known to be passive, as required by the second law of thermodynamics. This paper investigates the potential for work extraction by coupling a thermal bath to a qubit of either spin, fermionic, or topological type,…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2026-04-29 Jhh-Jing Hong , Feng-Li Lin