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There are some examples in the literature, in which despite the fact that the underlying theory or model does not impose a lower bound on the size of black holes, the final temperature under Hawking evaporation is nevertheless finite and…
Physical implementations of quantum annealing unavoidably operate at finite temperatures. We point to a fundamental limitation of fixed finite temperature quantum annealers that prevents them from functioning as competitive scalable…
The emergence of irreversibility in physical processes, despite the fundamentally reversible nature of quantum mechanics, remains an open question in physics. This thesis explores the intricate relationship between quantum mechanics and…
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…
Landauer's limit on heat dissipation during information erasure is critical as devices shrink, requiring optimal pure-state preparation to minimise errors. However, Nernst's third law states this demands infinite resources in energy, time,…
We investigate, theoretically and experimentally, the thermodynamic performance of a minimal three-qubit heat-bath algorithmic cooling refrigerator. We analytically compute the coefficient of performance, the cooling power and the…
We analyze the lowest achievable temperature for a mechanical oscillator (representing, for example, the motion of a single trapped ion) which is coupled with a driven quantum refrigerator. The refrigerator is composed of a parametrically…
We have made a simple and natural modification of a recent quantum refrigerator model presented by Cleuren et al. in Phys. Rev, Lett.108, 120603 (2012). The original model consist of two metal leads acting as heat baths, and a set of…
Considering a general microscopic model for a quantum measuring apparatus comprising a quantum probe coupled to a thermal bath, we analyze the energetic resources necessary for the realization of a quantum measurement, which includes the…
Cooling of a quantum system is limited by the size of the control forces that are available (the "speed" of control). We consider the most general cooling process, albeit restricted to the regime in which the thermodynamics of the system is…
Precise thermometry for quantum systems is important to the development of new technology, and understanding the ultimate limits to precision presents a fundamental challenge. It is well known that optimal thermometry requires projective…
Quantum thermodynamics has emerged as a separate sub-discipline, revising the concepts and laws of thermodynamics, at the quantum scale. In particular, there has been a disruptive shift in the way thermometry, and thermometers are perceived…
There are both practical and foundational motivations to consider the thermodynamics of quantum systems at small scales. Here we address the issue of autonomous quantum thermal machines that are tailored to achieve some specific…
The unavoidable irreversible losses of power in a heat engine are found to be of quantum origin. Following thermodynamic tradition a model quantum heat engine operating by the Otto cycle is analyzed. The working medium of the model is…
In traditional thermodynamics the Carnot cycle yields the ideal performance bound of heat engines and refrigerators. We propose and analyze a minimal model of a heat machine that can play a similar role in quantum regimes. The minimal model…
It has long been taken for granted that there is only one type of thermodynamic system near absolute zero temperature: the ordinary one compatible with all statements of the third law, with a fundamental yet tacit assumption that all heat…
We study the asymptotic dynamics of arbitrary linear quantum open systems which are periodically driven while coupled with generic bosonic reservoirs. We obtain exact results for the heat flowing into the network, which are valid beyond the…
We introduce a classical algorithm to approximate the free energy of local, translation-invariant, one-dimensional quantum systems in the thermodynamic limit of infinite chain size. While the ground state problem (i.e., the free energy at…
Thermodynamics dictates that the specific heat of a system is strictly non-negative. However, in finite classical systems there are well known theoretical and experimental cases where this rule is violated, in particular finite atomic…
Thermal equilibrium states are exponentially hard to distinguish at very low temperatures, making equilibrium quantum thermometry in this regime a formidable task. We present a thermometric scheme that circumvents this limitation, by using…