Related papers: Typical fast thermalization processes in closed ma…
We consider the notion of thermal equilibrium for an individual closed macroscopic quantum system in a pure state, i.e., described by a wave function. The macroscopic properties in thermal equilibrium of such a system, determined by its…
Two identical finite quantum systems prepared initially at different temperatures, isolated from the environment, and subsequently brought into contact are demonstrated to relax towards Gibbs-like quasi-equilibrium states with a common…
Quantum typicality refers to the phenomenon that the expectation values of any given observable are nearly identical for the overwhelming majority of all normalized vectors in a sufficiently high-dimensional Hilbert (sub-)space. As a…
We review the non-equilibrium dynamics of many-body quantum systems after a quantum quench with spatial inhomogeneities, either in the Hamiltonian or in the initial state. We focus on integrable and many-body localized systems that fail to…
We study the internal dynamics of an elementary quantum system placed close to a body held at a temperature different from that of the surrounding radiation. We derive general expressions for lifetime and density matrix valid for bodies of…
Measuring the temperature of a quantum system is an essential task in almost all aspects of quantum technologies. Theoretically, an optimal strategy for thermometry requires measuring energy which demands full accessibility over the entire…
Statistical mechanics can predict thermal equilibrium states for most classical systems, but for an isolated quantum system there is no general understanding on how equilibrium states dynamically emerge from the microscopic Hamiltonian. For…
Many-body systems with both coherent dynamics and dissipation constitute a rich class of models which are nevertheless much less explored than their dissipationless counterparts. The advent of numerous experimental platforms that simulate…
The thermodynamics of quantum systems driven out of equilibrium has attracted increasing attention in last the decade, in connection with quantum information and statistical physics, and with a focus on non-classical signatures. While a…
Thermalization has been shown to occur in a number of closed quantum many-body systems, but the description of the actual thermalization dynamics is prohibitively complex. Here, we present a model - in one and two dimensions - for which we…
Generalizing response theory of open systems far from equilibrium is a central quest of nonequilibrium statistical physics. Using stochastic thermodynamics, we develop an algebraic method to study the response of nonequilibrium steady state…
Knowledge of all correlation functions of a system is equivalent to solving the corresponding many-body problem. Already a finite set of correlation functions can be sufficient to describe a quantum many-body system if correlations…
After a sudden disruption, weakly interacting quantum systems first relax to a prethermalized state that can be described by perturbation theory and a generalized Gibbs ensemble. Using these properties of the prethermalized state we…
The concept of entropy is fundamental to thermalization, yet appears at odds with basic principles in quantum mechanics. Statistical mechanics relies on the maximization of entropy for a system at thermal equilibrium. However, an isolated…
It is "conventional wisdom" that the uncertainty of local temperature measurements on equilibrium systems diverges exponentially fast as their temperature $T$ drops to zero. In contrast, some exactly solvable models showcase a more benign…
A principle on the macroscopic motion of systems in thermodynamic equilibrium, rarely discussed in texts, is reviewed: Very small but still macroscopic parts of a fully isolated system in thermal equilibrium move as if points of a rigid…
We study the speed of fluctuation of a quantum system around its thermodynamic equilibrium state, and show that the speed will be extremely small for almost all times in typical thermodynamic cases. The setting considered here is that of a…
We detail the experimental observation of the non-equilibrium many-body phenomenon prethermalization. We study the dynamics of a rapidly and coherently split one-dimensional Bose gas. An analysis based on the use of full quantum mechanical…
Starting from a microscopic description of weak system-bath interactions, we derive from first principles a quantum master equation that does not rely on the well-known rotating wave approximation. This includes generic many-body systems,…
To understand under which conditions thermodynamics emerges from the microscopic dynamics is the ultimate goal of statistical mechanics. Despite the fact that the theory is more than 100 years old, we are still discussing its foundations…