Related papers: A hierarchy of thermal processes collapses under c…

A scenario for systems with slow dynamics is characterised by stating that there are several temperatures coexisting in the sample, with a single temperature shared by all observables at each (widely separate) time-scale. In preparation for…

The resource theory of thermal operations, an established model for small-scale thermodynamics, provides an extension of equilibrium thermodynamics to nonequilibrium situations. On a lattice of any dimension with any translation-invariant…

Fluctuation theorems impose constraints on possible work extraction probabilities in thermodynamical processes. These constraints are stronger than the usual second law, which is concerned only with average values. Here, we show that such…

We introduce a class of states, called minimally entangled typical thermal states (METTS), designed to resemble a typical state of a quantum system at finite temperature with a bias towards classical (minimally entangled) properties. These…

Microscopic heat engines are microscale systems that convert energy flows between heat reservoirs into work or systematic motion. We have experimentally realized a minimal microscopic heat engine. It consists of a colloidal Brownian…

We study thermodynamic processes in contact with a heat bath that may have an arbitrary time-varying periodic temperature profile. Within the framework of stochastic thermodynamics, and for models of thermo-dynamic engines in the idealized…

The second law of thermodynamics for adiabatic operations -- constraints on state transitions in closed systems under external control -- is one of the fundamental principles of thermodynamics. On the other hand, it is recently established…

The statistical mechanical description of small systems staying in thermal equilibrium with an environment can be achieved by means of the Hamiltonian of mean force. In contrast to the reduced density matrix of an open quantum system, or…

At low temperature a thermodynamic system undergoes a phase transition when a physical parameter passes through a singularity point of the free energy, corresponding to formation of a new order. At high temperature the thermal fluctuations…

The eigenstate thermalisation hypothesis resolves the paradox of emergent thermal or classical behaviour in a closed quantum system by focussing upon local observations. This permits the remainder of the system to act as a bath,…

We use the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis to derive a quantum master equation for a system weakly coupled to a chaotic finite-sized bath prepared in a pure state. We show that the emergence of Markovianity is controlled by the…

We consider a particle in the approximation of a harmonic oscillator, coupled linearly to a field modeling an environment. The field is described by an infinite set of harmonic oscillators, and the system (particle--field) is considered in…

We investigate the operation of a qubit as a quantum thermal device within the repeated interaction framework, allowing for strong system-bath coupling and finite interaction times. We analyze two minimal models: an alternating-coupling…

One explanation of the thermalization of an isolated quantum system is the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis, which posits that all energy eigenstates are thermal. Based on this idea, we use dynamical typicality to predict the thermal…

Understanding the fundamental limits of state convertibility is crucial for establishing the boundaries of quantum information processing and thermodynamic efficiency. While auxiliary systems, catalysts, can facilitate otherwise impossible…

Thermal engines have been one of the principal topics of thermodynamics ever since its beginning. Today, in the era of the second quantum revolution, although the thermal processes in constant temperatures are relatively well understood in…

The coupling of two-level quantum systems to the thermal environment is a fundamental problem, with applications ranging from qubit state preparation to spin models. However, for the elementary problem of the thermodynamics of an ensemble…

A large class of isolated quantum system in a pure state can equilibrate and serve as a heat bath. We show that once the equilibrium is reached, any of its subsystems that is much smaller than the isolated system is thermalized such that…

Significant attention has been devoted to the problem of thermalization of observables in isolated quantum setups by individual eigenstates. Here, we address this issue from an open quantum system perspective, examining an isolated setup…

In this review the debated rapport between thermodynamics and quantum mechanics is addressed in the framework of the theory of periodically-driven/controlled quantum-thermodynamic machines. The basic model studied here is that of a…