Related papers: Demonstration of the quantum mechanics applicabili…
It has often been suggested that retrocausality offers a solution to some of the puzzles of quantum mechanics: e.g., that it allows a Lorentz-invariant explanation of Bell correlations, and other manifestations of quantum nonlocality,…
A practical way to deal with the problem of time in quantum cosmology and quantum gravity is proposed. The main tool is effective equations, which mainly restrict explicit considerations to semiclassical regimes but have the crucial…
A fundamental question in many-body physics is how closed quantum systems reach equilibrium. We address this question experimentally and theoretically in an ultracold large-spin Fermi gas where we find a complex interplay between internal…
Based on quantum statistical mechanics and microscopic quantum dynamics, we prove Planck's and Kelvin's principles for macroscopic systems in a general and realistic setting. We consider a hybrid quantum system that consists of the…
The relationship between microsystems and macrosystems is considered in the context of quantum field formulation of statistical mechanics: it is argued that problems on foundations of quantum mechanics can be solved relying on this…
A discussion of the quantum mechanical use of superposition or entangled states shows that descriptions containing only statements about state vectors and experiments outputs are the most suitable for Quantum Mechanics. In particular, it is…
This colloquium gives an overview of recent theoretical and experimental progress in the area of nonequilibrium dynamics of isolated quantum systems. We particularly focus on quantum quenches: the temporal evolution following a sudden or…
A central endeavor of thermodynamics is the measurement of free energy changes. Regrettably, although we can measure the free energy of a system in thermodynamic equilibrium, typically all we can say about the free energy of a…
Large-scale simulations of the spin dynamics in quantum dots subjected to trains of periodic laser pulses enable us to describe and understand related experiments. By comparing the data for different models to experimental results, we gain…
An open question in the field of non-equilibrium statistical physics is whether there exists a unique way through which non-equilibrium systems equilibrate irrespective of how far they are away from equilibrium. To answer this question we…
We discuss how to simulate simple quantum logic operations with a large number of qubits. These simulations are needed for experimental testing of scalable solid-state quantum computers. Quantum logic for remote qubits is simulated in a…
Quantum mechanics allows processes to be superposed, leading to a genuinely quantum lack of causal structure. For example, the process known as the quantum switch applies two operations ${\cal A}$ and ${\cal B}$ in a superposition of the…
Dynamical maps describe general transformations of the state of a physical system, and their iteration can be interpreted as generating a discrete time evolution. Prime examples include classical nonlinear systems undergoing transitions to…
The reasons which restrict opportunities of classical mechanics at the description of nonequilibrium systems are discussed. The way of overcoming of the key restrictions is offered. This way is based on an opportunity of representation of…
We review canonical experiments on systems that have pushed the boundary between the quantum and classical worlds towards much larger scales, and discuss their unique features that enable quantum coherence to survive. Because the types of…
We investigate quench dynamics in a one-dimensional spin model, comparing both quantum and classical descriptions. Our primary focus is on the different timescales involved in the evolution of the observables as they approach statistical…
Thermodynamic principles are often deceptively simple and yet surprisingly powerful. We show how a simple rule, such as the net flow of energy in and out of a moving atom under nonequilibrium steady state condition, can expose the…
Testable predictions of quantum mechanics are invariant under time reversal. But the change of the quantum state in time is not so, neither in the collapse nor in the no-collapse interpretations of the theory. This fact challenges the…
A variety of quantum gravity models (including spin foams) can be described using a path integral formulation. A path integral has a well-known statistical mechanical interpretation in connection with a canonical ensemble. In this sense, a…
A pedagogical introduction is given to the quantum mechanics of closed systems, most generally the universe as a whole. Quantum mechanics aims at predicting the probabilities of alternative coarse-grained time histories of a closed system.…