Related papers: Quantum Statistical Processes in the Early Univers…
The macroscopic fluctuation theory provides a complete hydrodynamic description of non-equilibrium classical diffusive systems. As a first step towards a diffusive theory of open quantum systems, we show how to construct a microscopic open…
We consider a type of Quantum Electro-Mechanical System, known as the shuttle system, first proposed by Gorelik et al., [Phys. Rev. Lett., 80, 4526, (1998)]. We use a quantum master equation treatment and compare the semi-classical solution…
The interplay between thermodynamics, general relativity and quantum mechanics has long intrigued researchers. Recently, important advances have been obtained in thermodynamics, mainly regarding its application to the quantum domain through…
According to the inflationary scenario of cosmology, all structure in the Universe can be traced back to primordial fluctuations during an accelerated (inflationary) phase of the very early Universe. A conceptual problem arises due to the…
Quantum mechanics started out as a theory to describe the smallest scales of energy in Nature. After a hundred years of development it is now routinely employed to describe, among others, quantum computers with thousands of qubits. This…
We discuss the appearance of time-asymmetric behavior in physical processes in cosmology and in the dynamics of the Universe itself. We begin with an analysis of the nature and origin of irreversibility in well-known physical processes such…
This chapter seeks to outline a few basic problems in quantum statistical physics where recent experimental advances from the atomic physics community offer the hope of dramatic progress. The focus is on nonequilibrium situations where the…
We address the use of a single qubit as a quantum probe to characterize the properties of classical noise. In particular, we focus on the characterization of classical noise arising from the interaction with a stochastic field described by…
"\textit{The noise is the signal}"[R. Landauer, Nature \textbf{392}, 658 (1998)] emphasizes the rich information content encoded in fluctuations. This paper assesses the dynamical role of fluctuations of a quantum system driven far from…
We address two basic issues in the theory of galaxy formation from fluctuations of quantum fields: 1) the nature and origin of noise and fluctuations and 2) the conditions for using a classical stochastic equation for their description. On…
The consistent histories formulation of the quantum theory of a closed system with pure initial state defines an infinite number of incompatible consistent sets, each of which gives a possible description of the physics. We investigate the…
In the framework of quantum open systems, that is, simple quantum systems coupled to quantum baths, our aim is to characterize those actions of the quantum environment which give rise to dynamics dictated by classical noises. First, we…
Quantum statistics originate from the physics of state preparation. It is therefore wrong to think of quantum states as fundamental. In fact, quantum states are merely summaries of dynamical processes that randomize the properties of the…
This work discusses simple examples how quantum systems are obtained as subsystems of classical statistical systems. For a single qubit with arbitrary Hamiltonian and for the quantum particle in a harmonic potential we provide explicitly…
We discuss the role of quantum coherence in the energy fluctuations of open quantum systems. To this aim, we introduce a protocol, to which we refer to as the end-point-measurement scheme, allowing to define the statistics of energy changes…
We discuss how the classical notions of time and causal structure may emerge together with quantum-mechanical probabilities from a universal quantum state. For this, the process of decoherence between semiclassical branches is important.…
We present an analysis of quantum mechanics and its problems and paradoxes taking into account the results that have been obtained during the last two decades by investigations in the field of `quantum structures research'. We concentrate…
Lack of knowledge about the detailed many-particle motion on the microscopic scale is a key issue in any theoretical description of a macroscopic experiment. For systems at or close to thermal equilibrium, statistical mechanics provides a…
We derive a formula for the nonequilibrium entropy of a classical stochastic field in terms of correlation functions of this field. The formalism is then applied to define the entropy of gravitational perturbations (both gravitational waves…
We use entropy-energy arguments to assess the limitations on the running time and on the system size, as measured in qubits, of noisy macroscopic circuit-based quantum computers.