Related papers: The irreversible quantum
Irreversibility implies a preferred flow of time, yet special relativity denies the existence of a preferred clock. This tension has long obstructed the formulation of a relativistic master equation: standard Markovian approximations either…
The approach to a substantiation of thermodynamics is offered. A conservative system of interacting elements, which is not in equilibrium, is used as a model. This system is then split into small subsystems that are accepted as being in…
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…
The Halting problem of a quantum computer is considered. It is shown that if halting of a quantum computer takes place the associated dynamics is described by an irreversible operator.
We propose a new approach concerning the introduction of time-irreversibility in statistical mechanics. It is based on a transition function defined in terms of path integral and verifying a time-irreversible equation. We show first how…
One of the fundamental problems of modern physics is how the classical world, the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics and the whole irreversibility emerges from the quantum reality with reversible evolution. This relates to the problem of measurement…
Quantum theory is extremely successful in explaining most physical phenomena, and is not contradicted by any experiment. Yet, the theory has many puzzling features : the occurrence of probabilities, the unclear distinction between the…
The principle of microscopic reversibility is a fundamental element in the formulation of fluctuation relations and the Onsager reciprocal relations. As such, a clear description of whether and how this principle is adapted to the quantum…
Time-varying media, i.e., materials whose properties dynamically change in time, have opened new possibilities for thermal emission engineering by lifting the limitations imposed by energy conservation and reciprocity, and providing access…
The infinite dimensional generalization of the quantum mechanics of extended objects, namely, the quantum field theory of extended objects is employed to address the hitherto nonrenormalizable gravitational interaction following which the…
A quantum engine with n qubits performing thermodynamic cycles with two thermal reservoirs is presented. While such constructions have been aplenty, here we show the existence of what we term as "limit cycle" at a purely quantum level of…
The relationship between reversible-dynamical and irreversible-thermodynamic descriptions is analyzed from a meta-theoretical point of view. A network of inter-theoretical relations is drawn by means of asymptotic relations and…
Quantum coherence, the ability of a quantum system to be in a superposition of orthogonal quantum states, is a distinct feature of the quantum mechanics, thus marking a deviation from classical physics. Coherence finds its applications in…
Time-reversal had always been assumed to be a symmetry of physics at the fundamental level. In this paper we will explore the violations of time-reversal symmetry at the fundamental level and the consequences on thermodynamic systems.…
We give a quantum version of the Jarzynski relation between the distribution of work done over a certain time-interval on a system and the difference of equilibrium free energies. The main new ingredient is the identification of work…
Microscopic physical laws are time-symmetric, hence, a priori there exists no preferential temporal direction. However, the second law of thermodynamics allows one to associate the "forward" temporal direction to a positive variation of the…
We investigate the thermodynamics of integrable classical field theories under the effect of a random initial configuration, motivated by the nonequilibrium evolution of quantum field theories. The approach to thermal equilibrium is…
Thermodynamics of quantum coherence has attracted growing attention recently, where the thermodynamic advantage of quantum superposition is characterized in terms of quantum thermodynamics. We investigate thermodynamic effects of quantum…
A non-relativistic quantum mechanical theory is proposed that describes the universe as a continuum of worlds whose mutual interference gives rise to quantum phenomena. A logical framework is introduced to properly deal with propositions…
We investigate the class of physical theories with the same local structure as quantum theory, but a potentially different global structure. It has previously been shown that any bipartite correlations generated by such a theory must be…