This paper explores the generalization of the concept of a "probability current", familiar from wave-function quantum mechanics, to quantum systems with finite-dimensional Hilbert spaces. The generalized definition applies both to isolated systems evolving via the Schrödinger equation and to more general open systems obeying the Lindblad master equation. We establish several properties of the probability current and explore its relation to thermodynamic heat and work.
We construct a rigourous model of quantum measurement. A two-state model of a negative temperature amplifier, such as a laser, is taken to a classical thermodynamic limit. In the limit, it becomes a classical measurement apparatus obeying the stochastic axioms of quantum mechanics. Thus we derive the probabilities from a deterministic Schroedinger's equation by procedures analogous to those of classical statistical mechanics. This requires making precise the notion of `macroscopic.'
A simple model of quantum particle is proposed in which the particle in a {\it macroscopic} rest frame is represented by a {\it microscopic d}-dimensional oscillator, {\it s=(d-1)/2} being the spin of the particle. The state vectors are defined simply by complex combinations of coordinates and momenta. It is argued that the observables of the system are Hermitian forms (corresponding uniquely to Hermitian matrices). Quantum measurements transforms the equilibrium state obtained after preparation into a family of equilibrium states corresponding to the critical values of the measured observable…
If the second law of thermodynamics forbids a transition from one state to another, then it is still possible to make the transition happen by using a sufficient amount of work. But if we do not have access to this amount of work, can the transition happen probabilistically? In the thermodynamic limit, this probability tends to zero, but here we find that for finite-sized systems, it can be finite. We compute the maximum probability of a transition or a thermodynamical fluctuation from any initial state to any final state, and show that this maximum can be achieved for any final state which is…
According to thermodynamics, the inevitable increase of entropy allows the past to be distinguished from the future. From this perspective, any clock must incorporate an irreversible process that allows this flow of entropy to be tracked. In addition, an integral part of a clock is a clockwork, that is, a system whose purpose is to temporally concentrate the irreversible events that drive this entropic flow, thereby increasing the accuracy of the resulting clock ticks compared to counting purely random equilibration events. In this article, we formalise the task of autonomous temporal probabil…
Energy is often partitioned into heat and work by two independent paths corresponding to the change in the eigenenergies or the probability distributions of a quantum system. The discrepancies of the heat and work for various quantum thermodynamic processes have not been well characterized in literature. Here we show how the work in quantum machines is differentially related to isochoric, isothermal, and adiabatic processes. We prove that the energy exchanges during the quantum isochoric and isothermal processes are simply depending on the change in the eigenenergies or the probability distrib…
Non-equilibrium quantum thermodynamics is essential to describe new devices that operate far from the regime where the usual thermodynamical laws are obeyed. When quantum fluctuations dominate, defining and measuring work and heat, two central concepts in classical thermodynamics, is non-trivial. For driven, but otherwise isolated, quantum systems, work is a random variable associated with the change in the internal energy, as the first law of thermodynamics indicates. In this paper we present the design and the experimental implementation of a quantum work meter (QWM) operating on an ensemble…
Proposals to solve the problems of quantum measurement via non-linear CPT-violating modifications of quantum dynamics are argued to provide a possible fundamental explanation for the irreversibility of statistical mechanics as well. The argument is expressed in terms of collapse-free accounts. The reverse picture, in which statistical irreversibility generates quantum irreversibility, is argued to be less satisfactory because it leaves the Born probability rule unexplained.
The problem of random motion of 1D quantum reactive harmonic oscillator (QRHO) is formulated in terms of a wave functional regarded as a complex probability process in an extended space. In the complex stochastic differential equation (SDE) for this process the variables are separated with the help of the Langevin-type model SDE introduced in the functional space. The complete positive Fokker-Plank measure of the functional space is obtained. The average wave function of roaming QRHO is obtained by means of functional integration over the process with the complete Fokker-Plank measure in the f…
Dissipation tends to wash out dynamical features observed at early evolution times. In this paper we analyze a resonant single--atom two--photon quantum optical amplifier both dynamically and thermodynamically. A detailed thermodynamic balance shows that the non--linear amplifier is thermodynamically equivalent to the linear amplifier discussed in (Phys. Rev. A, 74 (2006), 063822). However, by calculating the Wigner quasi--probability distribution for various initial field states, we show that unique quantum features in optical phase space, absent from the linear amplifier, are maintained for …
The system of oscillator interacting with vacuum is considered as a problem of random motion of quantum reactive harmonic oscillator (QRHO). It is formulated in terms of a wave functional regarded as complex probability process in the extended space. This wave functional obeys some stochastic differential equation (SDE). Based on the nonlinear Langevin type SDE of second order, introduced in the functional space R{W(t)}, the variables in original equation are separated. The general measure in the space R{W(t)} of the Fokker-Plank type is obtained and expression for total wave function (wave mi…
Completely positive trace preserving maps are essential for the formulation of the second law of thermodynamics. The dynamics of quantum systems, correlated with their environments, are in general not described by such maps. We explore how this issue can be fixed by describing the classical analogue of this problem. We consider correlated probability distributions, whose subsequent system dynamics is ill-described by stochastic maps, and prescribe the correct way to describe the dynamics. We use this prescription to discuss the classical version of the second law, valid for correlated probabil…
Small, out-of-equilibrium, and quantum systems defy simple thermodynamic expressions. Such systems are exemplified by molecular switches, which exchange heat with a bath. These molecules can photoisomerize, or change conformation, or switch, upon absorbing light. The photoisomerization probability depends on kinetic details that couple the molecule's energetics to its dissipation. Therefore, a simple, general, thermodynamic-style bound on the photoisomerization probability seems out of reach. We derive such a bound using a resource theory. The resource-theory framework is a set of mathematical…
Force-current structure in Markovian open quantum systems and its applications: geometric housekeeping-excess decomposition and thermodynamic trade-off relations
We present here a set of lecture notes on quantum thermodynamics and canonical typicality. Entanglement can be constructively used in the foundations of statistical mechanics. An alternative version of the postulate of equal a priori probability is derived making use of some techniques of convex geometry
Understanding current fluctuations is of fundamental importance and paves the way for the development of practical applications. According to the thermodynamic and kinetic uncertainty relations, the precision of currents can be constrained solely by total entropy production or dynamical activity. In this study, we derive a tighter bound on the precision of currents in terms of both thermodynamic and kinetic quantities, demonstrating that these quantities jointly constrain current fluctuations. The thermodynamic and kinetic uncertainty relations become particular cases of our result in asymptot…
Local master equations are a widespread tool to model open quantum systems, especially in the context of many-body systems. These equations, however, are believed to lead to thermodynamic anomalies and violation of the laws of thermodynamics. In contrast, here we rigorously prove that local master equations are consistent with thermodynamics and its laws without resorting to a microscopic model, as done in previous works. In particular, we consider a quantum system in contact with multiple baths and identify the relevant contributions to the total energy, heat currents and entropy production r…
A model for the thermodynamics of a quantum heat bath is introduced. Under the assumption that the bath molecules have finitely many degrees of freedom and are weakly interacting, we present a general derivation of the equation of state of the bath in the thermodynamic limit. The relation between the temperature and the specific energy of the bath depends on (i) the spectral properties of the molecules, and (ii) the choice of probability measure on the state space of a representative molecule. The results obtained illustrate how the microscopic features of the molecular constituents determine …
Most attempts to argue for the second law of thermodynamics fail because (1) they use the unviable frequency theory of probability and (2) they do not explain why the arrow of time seen in experiments is aligned with the thermodynamic arrow of time. I use the decision theoretic interpretation of quantum probability from the many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics to solve the probability problem. I then derive a correlation between the knowledge arrow of time and the entropy arrow of time using physical constraints on knowledge creation imposed by Popper's evolutionary theory of knowle…
We present an axiomatic framework for thermodynamics that incorporates information as a fundamental concept. The axioms describe both ordinary thermodynamic processes and those in which information is acquired, used and erased, as in the operation of Maxwell's demon. This system, like previous axiomatic systems for thermodynamics, supports the construction of conserved quantities and an entropy function governing state changes. Here, however, the entropy exhibits both information and thermodynamic aspects. Although our axioms are not based upon probabilistic concepts, a natural and highly usef…
How to introduce thermodynamics to quantum mechanics ? Among from numerous possibilities of solving this task, the simple choice is here: The conventional von Neumann equation deals with a density operator whose probability weights are time independent. Because there is no reason apart from the reversible quantum mechanics that these weights have to be time independent, this constraint is waived, thus making possible to introduce thermodynamical concepts to quantum mechanics. %\textcolor{green}{ This procedure is similar to that of Lindblad's equation, but different on principle. %\textcolor{r…
As predicted by the second law of thermodynamics, the increase of entropy is irreversible in time. However, in quantum mechanics the evolution of quantum states is symmetrical about time-reversal, resulting a contradiction between thermodynamic entropy and quantum entropy. We study the W entropy, which is calculated from the probability distribution of the wave function on Wannier basis, in hard-core boson system. We find that W entropy and F entropy, which is calculated from the probability distribution of the wave function on Fock basis, satisfy an approximately linear relationship and have …
A new approach to quantum Markov processes is developed and the corresponding Fokker-Planck equation is derived. The latter is examined to reproduce known results from classical and quantum physics. It was also applied to the phase-space description of a mechanical system thus leading to a new treatment of this problem different from the Wigner presentation. The equilibrium probability density obtained in the mixed coordinate-momentum space is a reasonable extension of the Gibbs canonical distribution.
Thermodynamic uncertainty relations (TURs) represent one of the few broad-based and fundamental relations in our toolbox for tackling the thermodynamics of nonequilibrium systems. One form of TUR quantifies the minimal energetic cost of achieving a certain precision in determining a nonequilibrium current. In this initial stage of our research program, our goal is to provide the quantum theoretical basis of TURs using microphysics models of linear open quantum systems where it is possible to obtain exact solutions. In paper [Dong \textit{et al.}, Entropy {\bf 24}, 870 (2022)], we show how TURs…
The probability operator for a generic non-equilibrium quantum system is derived. The corresponding stochastic, dissipative Schrödinger equation is also given. The dissipative and stochastic propagators are linked by the fluctuation-dissipation theorem that is derived from the unitary condition on the time propagator. The dissipative propagator is derived from thermodynamic force and entropy fluctuation operators that are in general non-linear.
Mesoscopic thermoelectric heat engine is much anticipated as a device that allows us to utilize with high efficiency wasted heat inaccessible by conventional heat engines. However, the derivation of the heat current in this engine seems to be either not general or described too briefly, even inappropriate in some cases. In this paper, we give a clear-cut derivation of the heat current of the engine with suitable assumptions beyond the linear-response regime. It resolves the confusion in the definition of the heat current in the linear-response regime. After verifying that we can construct the …
We present an explicit correspondence between quantum mechanics and the classical theory of irreversible thermodynamics as developed by Onsager, Prigogine et al. Our correspondence maps irreversible Gaussian Markov processes into the semiclassical approximation of quantum mechanics. Quantum-mechanical propagators are mapped into thermodynamical probability distributions. The Feynman path integral also arises naturally in this setup. The fact that quantum mechanics can be translated into thermodynamical language provides additional support for the conjecture that quantum mechanics is not a fund…
We show that when the thermal wavelength is comparable to the spatial size of a system, thermodynamic observables like Pressure and Volume have quantum fluctuations that cannot be ignored. They are now represented by operators; conventional (classical) thermodynamics is no longer applicable. We continue the work in earlier papers where quantization rules for thermodynamics were developed by analogy with optics and mechanics, by working out explicitly the quantum theory of van der Waals gases. We find a wave equation satisfied by the thermodynamic wave function as well as solutions ({\em cohere…
