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Related papers: Cooling to absolute zero: The unattainability prin…

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Thermodynamics is commonly presented as a theory of macroscopic systems in stable equilibrium, built upon assumptions of extensivity and scaling with system size. In this paper, we present a universal formulation of the elementary…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2026-03-26 Gian Paolo Beretta

In most studies for the quantification of the third thermodynamic law, the minimum temperature which can be achieved with a long but finite-time process scales as a negative power of the process duration. In this article, we use our recent…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2017-10-11 Dionisis Stefanatos

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…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2025-08-12 Q. H. Liu , S. F. Xiao , D. Guo , K. J. Yin

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…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2019-06-25 Yuan Yao , Meng-Shi Hou , Yen Chin Ong

We show that the maximum extractable work (ergotropy) from a quantum many-body system is constrained by local athermality of an initial state and local entropy decrease brought about by quantum operations. The obtained universal upper bound…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2025-01-31 Akihiro Hokkyo , Masahito Ueda

We analyze the steady-state formalism for optimizing the cooling power of a thermoelectric refrigerator (TER), unifying the endoreversible and exoreversible approximations within one framework. Although the cooling power is non-optimizable…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2026-04-14 Rajeshree Chakraborty , Ramandeep S. Johal

The scaling of the optimal cooling power of a reciprocating quantum refrigerator is sought as a function of the cold bath temperature as $T_c \to 0$. The working medium consists of noninteracting particles in a harmonic potential. Two…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2009-11-13 Yair Rezek , Peter Salamon , Karl Heinz Hoffmann , Ronnie Kosloff

Practical implementations of quantum technologies require preparation of states with a high degree of purity---or, in thermodynamic terms, very low temperatures. Given finite resources, the Third Law of thermodynamics prohibits perfect…

Thermodynamics is a branch of science blessed by an unparalleled combination of generality of scope and formal simplicity. Based on few natural assumptions together with the four laws, it sets the boundaries between possible and impossible…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2014-02-06 Luis A. Correa , José P. Palao , Daniel Alonso , Gerardo Adesso

Toward the formulation of the operational approach to quantum thermodynamics, the heat-up operator is explicitly constructed. This quantum operation generates for a generic system an irreversible transformation from a pure ground state at…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2010-10-07 Mozhgan Sabzehzari , Yuki Aoyaghi , Sumiyoshi Abe

I consider the non-equilibrium DC transport of electrons through a quantum system with a thermoelectric response. This system may be any nanostructure or molecule modeled by the nonlinear scattering theory which includes Hartree-like…

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics · Physics 2013-03-06 Robert S. Whitney

We study the Unitary Hitting Time Problem (UHTP) in quantum dynamics. Given computably described pure states |a>, |b> and a time-dependent unitary U(t), define the hitting time as the infimum of t > 0 such that the fidelity between U(t)|a>…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2026-04-13 Katsufumi Matsuura

A first principle reciprocating quantum refrigerator is investigated with the purpose of determining the limitations of cooling to absolute zero. We find that if the energy spectrum of the working medium possesses an uncontrollable gap,…

Chemical Physics · Physics 2015-05-13 Tova Feldmann , Ronnie Kosloff

One general consequence of the Nernst theorem is derived, i.e., the various heat capacities of a thermodynamic system under different constraints approach zero as the temperature approaches absolute zero. The temperature dependence of the…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2023-03-15 Shanhe Su , Yinghui Zhou , Guozhen Su , Jincan Chen

We discuss in the framework of black hole thermodynamics some aspects relative to the third law in the case of black holes of the Kerr-Newman family. In the light of the standard proof of the equivalence between the unattainability of the…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2016-08-31 F. Belgiorno , M. Martellini

The second law of thermodynamics, formulated as an ultimate bound on the maximum extractable work, has been rigorously derived in multiple scenarios. However, the unavoidable limitations that emerge due to the lack of control on small…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2016-04-27 H. Wilming , R. Gallego , J. Eisert

The Shannon's bound for compression is one of the key restrictions for the compression of quantum information. Here we show that the unitarity of the compression operation imposes new bounds on the compression that are more limiting than…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2021-07-16 Sadegh Raeisi

This article describes the third law of thermodynamics. This law is often poorly known and is often decried, or even considered optional and irrelevant to describe weather and climate phenomena. This, however, is inaccurate and contrary to…

Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics · Physics 2019-12-02 Pascal Marquet

Quantum thermodynamics supplies a consistent description of quantum heat engines and refrigerators up to the level of a single few level system coupled to the environment. Once the environment is split into three;a hot, cold and work…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2015-04-17 Ronnie Kosloff , Amikam Levy

The rate of temperature decrease of a cooled quantum bath is studied as its temperature is reduced to the absolute zero. The III-law of thermodynamics is then quantified dynamically by evaluating the characteristic exponent {\zeta} of the…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2015-04-17 Amikam Levy , Robert Alicki , Ronnie Kosloff