Related papers: Conditional work statistics of quantum measurement…
The relationship between thermodynamics and statistical physics is valid in the thermodynamic limit - when the number of particles becomes very large. Here, we study thermodynamics in the opposite regime - at both the nano scale, and when…
The standard assumption for the equilibrium microcanonical state in quantum mechanics, that the system must be in one of the energy eigenstates, is weakened so as to allow superpositions of states. The weakened form of the microcanonical…
When a well-localized photon is incident on a spatially superposed absorber but is not absorbed, the photon can still deliver energy to the absorber. It is shown that when the transferred energy is small relative to the energy uncertainty…
Work in the paradigm of the quantum fluctuation theorems of Crooks and Jarzynski is determined by projective measurements of energy at the beginning and end of the force protocol. In analogy to classical systems, we consider an alternative…
Using a very simple Gedankenexperiment, I remind the reader that (contrary to what happens in classical mechanics) the energy of a quantum system is inevitably increased just by performing (some) textbook measurements on it. As a direct…
This work deals with the physical system governed by a Hamiltonian operator, in two-dimensional space, of spinless charged particles subject to a perpendicular magnetic field B, coupled with a harmonic potential in the context of…
Considering the recently established arbitrariness the Schroedinger equation has to be interpreted as an equation of motion for a statistical ensemble of particles. The statistical qualities of individual particles derive from the unknown…
An open question of fundamental importance in thermodynamics is how to describe the fluctuations of work for quantum coherent processes. In the standard approach, based on a projective energy measurement both at the beginning and at the end…
We introduce contextual values as a generalization of the eigenvalues of an observable that takes into account both the system observable and a general measurement procedure. This technique leads to a natural definition of a general…
We discuss an approach to determine averages of the work, dissipated heat and variation of internal energy of an open quantum system driven by an external classical field. These quantities are measured by coupling the quantum system to a…
Engines are systems and devices that convert one form of energy into another, typically into a more useful form that can perform work. In the classical setup, physical, chemical, and biological engines largely involve the conversion of heat…
We define the state of minimum energy while the expectation values of the field operators and their time derivatives in a determined moment in such a state are constrained. As an axiom, we consider such a state as the background of the…
Recent advances in quantum thermodynamics have been focusing on ever more elementary systems of interest, approaching the limit of a single qubit, with correlations, strong coupling and non-equilibrium environments coming into play. Under…
Throughout quantum mechanics there is statistical balance, in the collective response of an ensemble of systems to differing measurement types. Statistical balance is a core feature of quantum mechanics, underlying quantum mechanical…
Quantum mechanics allows processes to be superposed, leading to a genuinely quantum lack of causal structure. For example, the process known as the quantum switch applies two operations ${\cal A}$ and ${\cal B}$ in a superposition of the…
Thermal machines are physical systems designed to convert thermal energy into practical work through cyclic state transformations. A key component in such a machine is a clock-equipped control element that dictates which interaction…
We establish an analytical criterion for dynamical thermalization within harmonic systems, applicable to both classical and quantum models. Specifically, we prove that thermalization of various observables, such as particle energies in…
We investigate the connection between recent results in quantum thermodynamics and fluctuation relations by adopting a fully quantum mechanical description of thermodynamics. By including a work system whose energy is allowed to fluctuate,…
The quantum fluctuations of a physical property can be observed in the measurement statistics of any measurement that is at least partially sensitive to that physical property. Quantum theory indicates that the effective distribution of…
We study the physics of quantum phase transitions from the perspective of non-equilibrium thermodynamics. For first order quantum phase transitions, we find that the average work done per quench in crossing the critical point is…