Related papers: Finite quantum environments as thermostats: an ana…
We consider a discrete quantum system coupled to a finite bath, which may consist of only one particle, in contrast to the standard baths which usually consist of continua of oscillators, spins, etc. We find that such finite baths may…
We construct a finite bath with variable temperature for quantum thermodynamic simulations in which heat flows between a system $\mathcal{S}$ and the bath environment $\mathcal{E}$ in time evolution of an initial $\mathcal{SE}$ pure state.…
We discuss some aspects related to the so-called Hilbert space Average Method, as an alternative to describe the dynamics of open quantum systems. First we present a derivation of the method which does not make use of the algebra satisfied…
One of the fundamental problems of quantum statistical physics is how an ideally isolated quantum system can ever reach thermal equilibrium behavior despite the unitary time evolution of quantum-mechanical systems. Here, we study, via…
Environments in quantum thermodynamics usually take the role of heat baths. These baths are Markovian, weakly coupled to the system, and initialized in a thermal state. Whenever one of these properties is missing, standard quantum…
The density matrix formalism which is widely used in the theory of measurements, quantum computing, quantum description of chemical and biological systems always imply the averaging over the states of the environment. In practice this is…
We discuss a qubit weakly coupled to a finite-size heat bath (calorimeter) from the point of view of quantum thermodynamics. The energy deposited to this environment together with the state of the qubit provides a basis to analyze the heat…
We analyze closed one-dimensional chains of weakly coupled many level systems, by means of the so-called Hilbert space average method (HAM). Subject to some concrete conditions on the Hamiltonian of the system, our theory predicts energy…
There is an increasing interest in the role of macroscopic environments to our understanding of the basics of quantum theory. The knowledge of the implications of the quantum theory to other theories, especially to the statistical mechanics…
We investigate dynamics of a small quantum system open to a bath with thermostat. We introduce another bath, called super bath, weakly coupled with the bath to provide it with thermostat, which has either the Lindblad or Redfield type. We…
We describe a numerical algorithm for approximating the equilibrium-reduced density matrix and the effective (mean force) Hamiltonian for a set of system spins coupled strongly to a set of bath spins when the total system (system+bath) is…
Complex environments, such as molecular matrices and biological material, play a fundamental role in many important dynamic processes in condensed phases. Because it is extremely difficult to conduct full quantum dynamics simulations on…
Standard heat machines (engine, heat pump, refrigerator) are composed of a system ("working fluid") coupled to at least two equilibrium baths at different temperatures and periodically driven by an external device (piston or rotor) called…
The consistent definition of the thermodynamic functions of small open quantum systems in contact with an environment in equilibrium with a heat bath has been the subject of many debates in the quantum community. In the present work we…
For open quantum systems coupled to a thermal bath at inverse temperature $\beta$, it is well known that under the Born-, Markov-, and secular approximations the system density matrix will approach the thermal Gibbs state with the bath…
The fabrication, utilisation, and efficiency of quantum technologies rely on a good understanding of quantum thermodynamic properties. Many-body systems are often used as hardware for these quantum devices, but interactions between…
A new microcanonical equilibrium state is introduced for quantum systems with finite-dimensional state spaces. Equilibrium is characterised by a uniform distribution on a level surface of the expectation value of the Hamiltonian. The…
We study properties of steady states (states with time-independent density operators) of systems of coupled harmonic oscillators. Formulas are derived showing how adiabatic change of the Hamiltonian transforms one steady state into another.…
We formalize and prove the extension to finite temperature of a class of quantum phase transitions, acting as condensations in the space of states, recently introduced and discussed at zero temperature~(Ostilli and Presilla 2021 \textit{J.…
The laws of thermodynamics put limits to the efficiencies of thermal machines. Analogues of these laws are now established for quantum engines weakly and passively coupled to the environment providing a framework to find improvements to…