Related papers: Reshaping the Quantum Arrow of Time
According to the Second Law of thermodynamics, the evolution of physical systems has a preferred direction, that is characterized by some positive entropy production. Here we propose a direct way to measure the stochastic entropy produced…
Measurements are ordinarily described with respect to absolute "Newtonian" time. In reality however, the switching-on of the measuring device at the instance of the measurement requires a timing device. Hence the classical time $t$ must be…
Antiparticles may be interpreted as ordinary particles travelling backwards in time and the two descriptions are considered equivalent, at least in special relativity and relativistic quantum mechanics. It is suggested that, vice versa, the…
A quantum Loschmidt echo (also referred to as quantum time mirror) corresponds to an effective time inversion after which the quantum wave function reverses its previous time evolution and eventually reaches its initial distribution again.…
Atomic frequency standards have achieved steadily increasing precision over the past seventy years, enabled in part by feedback mechanisms that stabilise their output. In parallel, the timekeeping capabilities of quantum systems have been…
A quantum mechanical theory is proposed which abandons an external parameter ``time'' in favor of a self-adjoint operator on a Hilbert space whose elements represent measurement events rather than system states. The standard quantum…
Any theory that states that the basic laws of physics are time-symmetric must be strictly deterministic. Only determinism enables time reversal of entropy increase. A contradiction therefore arises between two statements of Hawking. A…
Time is a parameter playing a central role in our most fundamental modelling of natural laws. Relativity theory shows that the comparison of times measured by different clocks depends on their relative motion and on the strength of the…
Both metaphysical and practical considerations related to time inversion have intrigued scientists for generations. Physicists have strived to devise and implement time-inversion protocols, in particular different forms of "time mirrors"…
Living systems are fundamentally irreversible, breaking detailed balance and establishing an arrow of time. But how does the evident arrow of time for a whole system arise from the interactions among its multiple elements? We show that the…
We consider a bipartite quantum object, composed of a quantum system and a quantum actuator which is periodically reset. We show that the reduced dynamics of the system approaches unitarity as the reset frequency of the actuator is…
Quantum control is concerned with active manipulation of physical and chemical processes on the atomic and molecular scale. This work presents a perspective of progress in the field of control over quantum phenomena, tracing the evolution…
Irreversibility is a fundamental concept with important implications at many levels. It pinpoints the fundamental difference between the intrinsically reversible microscopic equations of motion and the unidirectional arrow of time that…
We have constructed an automated learning apparatus to control quantum systems. By directing intense shaped ultrafast laser pulses into a variety of samples and using a measurement of the system as a feedback signal, we are able to reshape…
Here we explore the possibility of precise time-keeping in quantum systems using athermal resources. We show that quantum measurement engineered reservoirs can be used as athermal resources to drive the ticks of a quantum clock. Two and…
This thesis addresses two major problems in the philosophy of physics. The first is how to identify the minimal physical content of a theory; that is, what features of a theory are truly needed to make predictions, and what can be removed…
The fundamental time-reversal invariance of dynamical systems can be broken in various ways. One way is based on the presence of resonances and their interactions giving rise to unstable dynamical systems, leading to well-defined time…
We study how rapidly the direction of time becomes operationally detectable from mesoscopic data when state-weights may be positive or negative. In contrast with classical Markov processes -- where forward evolution is instantly…
Quantum coherence inherently affects the dynamics and the performances of a quantum machine. Coherent control can, at least in principle, enhance the work extraction and boost the velocity of evolution in an open quantum system. Using…
The importance of the global nature of the arrow of time is shown. Classical Reichenbach diagram and quantum Bohm-Reichenbach diagram, for the universe are introduced. They are used to show the increase of entropy in closed systems, the…