Related papers: Minimal work principle: proof and counterexamples
The minimum work principle states that work done on a thermally isolated equilibrium system is minimal for the adiabatically slow (reversible) realization of a given process. This principle, one of the formulations of the second law, is…
The minimal work principle asserts that work done on a thermally isolated equilibrium system, is minimal for the slowest (adiabatic) realization of a given process. This principle, one of the formulations of the second law, is operationally…
For a two-level quantum mechanical system, we derive microscopically the exact expression for the fluctuation of microscopic work in a multi-step non-equilibrium process, and we rigorously prove that in an isothermal process, the…
We treat a quantum mechanical system with certain general properties which are expected to be common in macroscopic quantum systems. Starting from a PURE initial state (which may not describe an equilibrium) in which energy is mildly…
Understanding and manipulating work fluctuations in microscale and nanoscale systems are of both fundamental and practical interest. For example, in considering the Jarzynski equality $\langle e^{-\beta W} \rangle=e^{-\beta \Delta F}$, a…
In quantum systems which satisfy the hypothesis of equal weights for eigenstates [4], the maximum work principle (for extremely slow and relatively fast operation) is derived by using quantum dynamics alone. This may be a crucial step in…
The second law of thermodynamics sets a lower bound on the work required to drive a system between thermal equilibrium states, with equality attained in the quasistatic limit. For finite-time processes, part of the extractable work is…
A generalized version of the Maximum Work Theorem is valid when the system is initially not at thermal equilibrium. In this work, we initially study the fraction of trajectories that violate this generalized theorem for a two simple…
We carefully examine the thermodynamic consequences of the repeated partial projection model for coupling a quantum system to an arbitrary series of environments under feedback control. This paper provides observational definitions of heat…
There is evidence that taking the time average of the work performed by a thermally isolated system effectively "transforms" the adiabatic process into an isothermal one. This approach allows inherent quantities of adiabatic processes to be…
The analytical expression for shortcuts to adiabaticity for any switching time and any thermally isolated system performing a finite-time and weakly driven process is presented. It is based on the analytical solution of the optimal…
The evolution of a driven quantum system is said to be adiabatic whenever the state of the system stays close to an instantaneous eigenstate of its time-dependent Hamiltonian. The celebrated quantum adiabatic theorem ensures that such pure…
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 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…
Recently, the concept of minimal dissipation has been brought forward as a means to define work performed on open quantum systems [Phys. Rev. A 105, 052216 (2022)]. We discuss this concept from the point of view of projection operator…
We study dynamic cooling, where an externally driven two-level system is cooled via reservoir, a quantum system with initial canonical equilibrium state. We obtain explicitly the minimal possible temperature $T_{\rm min}>0$ reachable for…
We study how Thomson's formulation of the second law: no work is extracted from an equilibrium ensemble by a cyclic process, emerges in the quantum situation through the averaging over fluctuations of work. The latter concept is carefully…
After the justification of the maximum entropy principle for equilibrium mechanical system from the principle of virtual work, i.e., the virtual work of microscopic forces on the elements of a mechanical system vanishes in thermodynamic…
The central quantity in the celebrated quantum Jarzynski equality is $e^{-\beta W}$, where $W$ is work and $\beta$ is the inverse temperature. The impact of quantum randomness on the fluctuations of $e^{-\beta W}$ and hence on the…
We consider damped stochastic systems in a controlled (time-varying) quadratic potential and study their transition between specified Gibbs-equilibria states in finite time. By the second law of thermodynamics, the minimum amount of work…