Related papers: {\it Colloquium:} Statistical Mechanics and Thermo…

A new microcanonical equilibrium state is introduced for quantum systems with finite-dimensional state spaces. Equilibrium is characterised by a uniform distribution on a level surface of the expectation value of the Hamiltonian. The…

Quantum dynamics can be regarded as a generalization of classical finite-state dynamics. This is a familiar viewpoint for workers in quantum computation, which encompasses classical computation as a special case. Here this viewpoint is…

It is shown that a paradigm of classical statistical mechanics --- the thermalization of a Brownian particle --- has a low-dimensional, deterministic analogue: when a heavy, slow system is coupled to fast deterministic chaos, the resultant…

The use of statistical methods to model gravitational systems is crucial to physics practice, but the extent to which thermodynamics and statistical mechanics genuinely apply to these systems is a contentious issue. This paper provides new…

Coherent quantum oscillators are basic physical systems both in quantum statistical physics and quantum thermodynamics. Their realizations in lab often involve solid-state devices sensitive to changes in ambient temperature. We represent…

Quantum-Induced Stochastic Dynamics arises from the coupling between a classical system and a quantum environment. Unlike standard thermal reservoirs, this environment acts as a dynamic bath, capable of simultaneously exchanging heat and…

We examine the non-extensive approach to the statistical mechanics of Hamiltonian systems with $H=T+V$ where $T$ is the classical kinetic energy. Our analysis starts from the basics of the formalism by applying the standard variational…

Underlying the classical thermodynamic principles are analogous microscopic laws, arising from the fundamental axioms of quantum mechanics. These define quantum thermodynamic variables such as quantum work and heat and characterize the…

An explicit expression is derived for the statistical description of small quantum systems, which are relatively-weakly and directly coupled to only small parts of their environments. The derived expression has a canonical form, but is…

A classical particle system coupled with a thermostat driven by an external constant force reaches its steady state when the ensemble-averaged drift velocity does not vary with time. The statistical mechanics of such a system is derived…

Equilibrium statistics of Hamiltonian systems is correctly described by the microcanonical ensemble, whereas canonical ones fail in the most interesting, mostly inhomogeneous, situations like phase separations or away from the thermodynamic…

We address the dynamics of a bosonic system coupled to either a bosonic or a magnetic environment, and derive a set of sufficient conditions that allow one to describe the dynamics in terms of the effective interaction with a classical…

Microcanonical thermodynamics allows the application of statistical mechanics both to finite and even small systems and also to the largest, self-gravitating ones. However, one must reconsider the fundamental principles of statistical…

We demonstrate that the presence of entanglement in macroscopic bodies (e.g. solids) in thermodynamical equilibrium could be revealed by measuring heat-capacity. The idea is that if the system were in a separable state, then for certain…

Superstatistics is an elegant framework for the description of steady-state thermodynamics, mostly used for systems with long-range interactions such as plasmas. In this work, we show that the potential energy distribution of a classical…

Depending on the exact experimental conditions, the thermodynamic properties of physical systems can be related to one or more thermostatistical ensembles. Here, we survey the notion of thermodynamic temperature in different statistical…

We review the general aspects of the concept of temperature in equilibrium and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics. Although temperature is an old and well-established notion, it still presents controversial facets. After a short…

We present a consistent thermodynamic theory for the resonant level model in the wide band limit, whose level energy is driven slowly by an external force. The problem of defining 'system' and 'bath' in the strong coupling regime is…

We study the entanglement and work statistics in a driven two-qubit system. The regulation of periodic driving has much more versatility and universality in contrast to reservoir engineering in static systems. We found the quasi-steady…

Concepts of everyday use like energy, heat, and temperature have acquired a precise meaning after the development of thermodynamics. Thermodynamics provides the basis for understanding how heat and work are related and with the general…