Related papers: Nonequilibrium quantum statistical mechanics and t…
We review the general aspects of the concept of temperature in equilibrium and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics. Although temperature is an old and well-established notion, it still presents controversial facets. After a short…
In statistical mechanics the zeroth law of thermodynamics is taken as a postulate which, as its name indicates, logically precedes the first and second laws. Treating it as a postulate has consequences for how temperature is introduced into…
A new theoretical approach to non-equilibrium statistical systems has recently been proposed by the author, a co-author and others. It is based on a variational principle which is associated with the discrepancy of a path through…
The thermodynamic properties of quantum heat engines are stochastic owing to the presence of thermal and quantum fluctuations. We here experimentally investigate the efficiency and nonequilibrium entropy production statistics of a spin-1/2…
This thesis is devoted to the study of physical systems embedded within the field of non-equilibrium statistical mechanics. Specifically, the state of the systems of interest constitutes a stochastic process that can be externally driven by…
We review recent developments for the description of far-from-equilibrium dynamics of quantum fields and subsequent thermalization.
Advances in controlling and measuring systems of ultra-cold atoms provided strong motivation to theoretical investigations of quantum dynamics in closed many-body systems. Fundamental questions on quantum dynamics and statistical mechanics…
We develop the stochastic approach to thermodynamics based on the stochastic dynamics, which can be discrete (master equation) continuous (Fokker-Planck equation), and on two assumptions concerning entropy. The first is the definition of…
We investigate the thermodynamics of integrable classical field theories under the effect of a random initial configuration, motivated by the nonequilibrium evolution of quantum field theories. The approach to thermal equilibrium is…
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…
Traditional thermodynamics governs the behaviour of large systems that evolve between states of thermal equilibrium. For these large systems, the mean values of thermodynamic quantities (such as work, heat and entropy) provide a good…
Assuming a classical statistical system of point particles the fundamental equations of continuum thermomechanics (continuity equation, equation of motion, and energy equation) shall be derived exactly. The macroscopic state functions…
In quantum statistical mechanics, equilibrium states have been shown to be the typical states for a system that is entangled with its environment, suggesting a possible identification between thermodynamic and von Neumann entropies. In this…
The status of heat and work in nonequilibrium thermodynamics is quite confusing and non-unique at present with conflicting interpretations even after a long history of the first law in terms of exchange heat and work, and is far from…
How can we derive the evolution equations of dissipative systems? What is the relation between the different approaches? How much do we understand the fundamental aspects of a second law based framework? Is there a hierarchy of dissipative…
Thermodynamics is based on the notions of energy and entropy. While energy is the elementary quantity governing physical dynamics, entropy is the fundamental concept in information theory. In this work, starting from first principles, we…
A simple and effective approach to thermodynamics is suggested, which solves the major difficulties in the traditional presentation of the subject. The internal energy is introduced from the behavior of deformable bodies, whereas the…
Fluctuation theorems are fundamental extensions of the second law of thermodynamics for small systems. Their general validity arbitrarily far from equilibrium makes them invaluable in nonequilibrium physics. So far, experimental studies of…
We analyze the production of entropy along non-equilibrium processes in quantum systems coupled to generic environments. First, we show that the entropy production due to final measurements and the loss of correlations obeys a fluctuation…
Recently, there has been a considerable progress on the issue of the thermodynamic second law, which is known as the law of entropy increase or irreversibility. In particular, a novel symmetry known as the Gallavotti-Cohen symmetry is found…