Related papers: Quantum work beyond classical (commuting) limits
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…
Work can be extracted from a single heat bath if additional information is available. For the paradigmatic case of a Brownian particle in a harmonic potential, whose position has been measured with finite precision, we determine the optimal…
We propose a new form of the Second Law inequality that defines a tight bound for extractable work from the non-equilibrium quantum state. In classical thermodynamics, the optimal work is given by the difference of free energy, what…
The partition function and free energy of a quantum many-body system determine its physical properties in thermal equilibrium. Here we study the computational complexity of approximating these quantities for $n$-qubit local Hamiltonians.…
Work extraction is one of the most central processes in quantum thermodynamics. However, the prior analysis of optimal extractable work has been restricted to a limited operational scenario where complete information about the initial state…
With the progress of nano-technology, thermodynamics also has to be scaled down, calling for specific protocols to extract and measure work. Usually, such protocols involve the action of an external, classical field (the battery) of…
We argue that the definition of the thermodynamic work done on a charged particle by a time-dependent electromagnetic field is an open problem, because the particle's Hamiltonian is not gauge-invariant. The solution of this problem demands…
The dynamics of classical and quantum systems which are driven by a high frequency ($\omega$) field is investigated. For classical systems the motion is separated into a slow part and a fast part. The motion for the slow part is computed…
We discuss an approach to determine averages of the work, dissipated heat and variation of internal energy of an open quantum system driven by an external classical field. These quantities are measured by coupling the quantum system to a…
The imaginary-time path integral representation of the canonical partition function of a quantum system and non-equilibrium work fluctuation relations are combined to yield methods for computing free energy differences in quantum systems…
A pair of systems at different temperatures is a classic environment for a heat engine, which produces work during the relaxation to a common equilibrium. It is generally believed that a direct interaction between the two systems will…
Unitary processes allow for the transfer of work to and from Hamiltonian systems. However, to achieve nonzero power for the practical extraction of work, these processes must be performed within a finite time, which inevitably induces…
The amount of extractable work from a physical system is fundamentally connected to the information available about its state, as illustrated by Maxwell's demon and the Gibbs paradox. In standard thermodynamic protocols involving…
Understanding the role of classical and quantum correlations in work extraction is a problem of fundamental importance in thermodynamics. We approach this problem by considering that, in closed quantum systems, the maximum cyclic work…
Understanding whether uniquely quantum features can provide concrete advantages in thermodynamic processes is a central objective of quantum thermodynamics. A key challenge is quantifying how different forms of non-classicality can be…
Quantum thermodynamics can be naturally phrased as a theory of quantum state transformation and energy exchange for small-scale quantum systems undergoing thermodynamical processes, thereby making the resource theoretical approach very well…
It is possible to extract work from a quantum-mechanical system whose dynamics is governed by a time-dependent cyclic Hamiltonian. An energy bath is required to operate such a quantum engine in place of the heat bath used to run a…
There are both practical and foundational motivations to consider the thermodynamics of quantum systems at small scales. Here we address the issue of autonomous quantum thermal machines that are tailored to achieve some specific…
Work extraction in quantum finite systems is an important issue in quantum thermodynamics. The optimal work extracted is called ergotropy, and it is achieved by maximizing the average work extracted over all the unitary cycles. However, an…
Recent technological developments have focused the interest of the quantum computing community on investigating how near-term devices could outperform classical computers for practical applications. A central question that remains open is…