Related papers: Jensen Inequality and the Second Law
In this paper, we study Jarzynski's equality and fluctuation theorems for diffusion processes. While some of the results considered in the current work are known in the (mainly physics) literature, we review and generalize these…
We pointed out that the generalized second law of thermodynamics on a de Sitter universe whose energy density stochastically fluctuates due to quantum fluctuations is seemingly violated. We have shown that even in such a case, the…
To define the work performed on a driven quantum system in a physically sound way has turned out to be a truly non-trivial task, except in some special cases of limited applicability. This topic has been in a focus of intense research…
In the scientific and engineering literature, the second law of thermodynamics is expressed in terms of the behavior of entropy in reversible and irreversible processes. According to the prevailing statistical mechanics interpretation the…
In classical phenomenological thermodynamics the first and second laws can be regarded as independent statements. Statistical mechanics provides a microscopic substratum that explains thermodynamics in probabilistic terms via a microstate…
We derive a generalization of the Second Law of Thermodynamics that uses Bayesian updates to explicitly incorporate the effects of a measurement of a system at some point in its evolution. By allowing an experimenter's knowledge to be…
The Jensen inequality has been recognized as a powerful tool to deal with the stability of time-delay systems. Recently, a new inequality that encompasses the Jensen inequality was proposed for the stability analysis of systems with finite…
Noncommutativity of observables is a central feature of quantum physics. It plays a fundamental role in the formulation of the uncertainty principle for complementary variables and strongly affects the laws of thermodynamics for systems…
In this paper we give a pedagogical introduction to the ideas of quantum thermodynamics and work fluctuations, using only basic concepts from quantum and statistical mechanics. After reviewing the concept of work, as usually taught in…
When a thermally isolated system performs a driving process in the quasistatic regime, its variation of average energy is equal to its quasistatic work. Even though presenting this simple definition, few attempts have been made to describe…
Thermodynamics constrains changes to the energy of a system, both deliberate and random, via its first and second laws. When the system is not in equilibrium, fluctuation theorems such as the Jarzynski equality further restrict the…
The second law of thermodynamics posits that in closed macroscopic systems the rate of entropy production must be positive. However, small systems can exhibit negative entropy production over short timescales, seemingly in contradiction…
Almost all processes -- highly correlated, weakly correlated, or correlated not at all---exhibit statistical fluctuations. Often physical laws, such as the Second Law of Thermodynamics, address only typical realizations -- as highlighted by…
Evidence implies that basic laws of thermodynamics must be tested by experiments. In this paper, an experiment is designed to measure the entropy of a system with at least one known (measurable) equation of state, especially the gas…
Work is a process-based quantity, and its measurement typically requires interaction with a measuring device multiple times. While classical systems allow for non-invasive and accurate measurements, quantum systems present unique challenges…
We study how Thomson's formulation of the second law: no work is extracted from an equilibrium ensemble by a cyclic process, emerges in the quantum situation through the averaging over fluctuations of work. The latter concept is carefully…
In this review paper, we discuss the statistical description in non-equilibrium regimes of energy fluctuations originated by the interaction between a quantum system and a measurement apparatus applying a sequence of repeated quantum…
We present fluctuation theorems and moment generating function equalities for generalized thermodynamic observables and quantum dynamics described by completely positive trace preserving (CPTP) maps, with and without feedback control. Our…
Based on the recently proposed framework of general relativistic stochastic mechanics [{\em J. Stat. Phys.}, 190:193, 2023; {\em J. Stat. Phys.}, 190:181, 2023] and stochastic thermodynamics [{\em SciPost Physics Core} 7, 082, 2024] at the…
Claims of exceptions to the second law of thermodynamics are generally met with extreme skepticism that is quite reasonable given the great confidence placed in the second law. But what specifically is the basis for that confidence? The…