Reversing Heat Flow by Coherence in a Multipartite Quantum System
Abstract
The second law of thermodynamics dictates that heat flows spontaneously from a high-temperature entity to a lower-temperature one. Yet, recent advances have demonstrated that quantum correlations between a system and its thermal environment can induce a reversal of heat flow, challenging classical thermodynamic expectations. Here, we experimentally demonstrate that internal quantum coherence in a multipartite spin system can also reverse heat flow, without relying on initial correlations with the environment. Under the collision model with cascade interaction, we verify that both the strength and the phase of the coherence term determine the direction and magnitude of energy transfer. These results enable precise control of heat flow using only local quantum properties.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2601.00198,
title = {Reversing Heat Flow by Coherence in a Multipartite Quantum System},
author = {Keyi Huang and Qi Zhang and Xiangjing Liu and Ruiqing Li and Xinyue Long and Hongfeng Liu and Xiangyu Wang and Yu-ang Fan and Yuxuan Zheng and Yufang Feng and Yu Zhou and Jack Ng and Xinfang Nie and Zhong-Xiao Man and Dawei Lu},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.00198},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
6+18 pages, Comments are welcome!