Thermodynamics is usually developed starting from entropy and the maximum entropy principle. We investigate here to what extent one can replace entropy with relative entropy which has several advantages, for example in the context of local quantum field theory. We find that the principle of maximum entropy can be replaced by a principle of minimum expected relative entropy. Various ensembles and their thermodynamic potentials can be defined through relative entropy. We also show that thermal fluctuations are in fact governed by a relative entropy. Furthermore we reformulate the third law of thermodynamics using relative entropy only.
We define a diagonal entropy (d-entropy) for an arbitrary Hamiltonian system as $S_d=-\sum_n ρ_{nn}\ln ρ_{nn}$ with the sum taken over the basis of instantaneous energy states. In equilibrium this entropy coincides with the conventional von Neumann entropy $S_n=-{\rm Tr}\, ρ\lnρ$. However, in contrast to $S_n$, the d-entropy is not conserved in time in closed Hamiltonian systems. If the system is initially in stationary state then in accord with the second law of thermodynamics the d-entropy can only increase or stay the same. We also show that the d-entropy can be expressed through the energy…
We argue that the entanglement entropy for a very small subsystem obeys a property which is analogous to the first law of thermodynamics when we excite the system. In relativistic setups, its effective temperature is proportional to the inverse of the subsystem size. This provides a universal relationship between the energy and the amount of quantum information. We derive the results using holography and confirm them in two dimensional field theories. We will also comment on an example with negative specific heat and suggest a connection between the second law of thermodynamics and the strong …
A dispersive medium becomes entangled with zero-point fluctuations in the vacuum. We consider an arbitrary array of material bodies weakly interacting with a quantum field and compute the quantum mutual information between them. It is shown that the mutual information in D dimensions can be mapped to classical thermodynamic entropy in D+1 dimensions. As a specific example, we compute the mutual information both analytically and numerically for a range of separation distances between two bodies in D=2 dimensions and find a logarithmic correction to the area law at short separations. A key advan…
We give meaning to the first and second laws of thermodynamics in case of mesoscopic out-of-equilibrium systems which are driven by diffusion processes. The notion of the entropy production is analyzed. The role of the Helmholtz extremum principle is contrasted to that of the more familiar entropy extremum principles.
We investigate a total thermodynamic entropy production rate of an isolated quantum system. In particular, we consider a quantum model of coupled harmonic oscillators in a star configuration, where a central harmonic oscillator (system) is coupled to a finite number of surrounding harmonic oscillators (bath). In this model, when the initial state of the total system is given by the tensor product of the Gibbs states of the system and the bath, every harmonic oscillator is always in a Gibbs state with a time-dependent temperature. This enables us to define time-dependent thermodynamic entropy f…
It is argued that a typical many body energy eigenstate has a well defined thermodynamic entropy and that individual eigenstates possess thermodynamic characteristics analogous to those of generic isolated systems. We examine large systems with eigenstate energies equivalent to finite temperatures. When quasi-static evolution of a system is adiabatic (in the quantum mechanical sense), two coupled subsystems can transfer heat from one subsystem to another yet remain in an energy eigenstate. To explicitly construct the entropy from the wave function, degrees of freedom are divided into two unequ…
Thermodynamic entropy, as defined by Clausius, characterizes macroscopic observations of a system based on phenomenological quantities such as temperature and heat. In contrast, information-theoretic entropy, introduced by Shannon, is a measure of uncertainty. In this Letter, we connect these two notions of entropy, using an axiomatic framework for thermodynamics [Lieb, Yngvason, Proc. Roy. Soc.(2013)]. In particular, we obtain a direct relation between the Clausius entropy and the Shannon entropy, or its generalisation to quantum systems, the von Neumann entropy. More generally, we find that …
The quantum thermodynamic property of the fractional damping system is investigated extensively. A fractional power-law decaying entropy function is revealed which presents another evidence for the validity of the third law of thermodynamics in the quantum dissipative region. Several non-trivial characters are excavated such as that the entropy varies from a non-linear diverging function to a semi-linear decaying function of the fractional exponent as the temperature tends to absolute zero.
Similarity between quantum mechanics and thermodynamics is discussed. It is found that if the Clausius equality is imposed on the Shannon entropy and the analogue of the heat quantity, then the value of the Shannon entropy comes to formally coincide with that of the von Neumann entropy of the canonical density matrix, and pure-state quantum mechanics apparently transmutes into quantum thermodynamics. The corresponding quantum Carnot cycle of a simple two-state model of a particle confined in a one-dimensional infinite potential well is studied, and its efficiency is shown to be identical to th…
We show that the generalized Boltzmann distribution is the only distribution for which the Gibbs-Shannon entropy equals the thermodynamic entropy. This result means that the thermodynamic entropy and the Gibbs-Shannon entropy are not generally equal, but rather than the equality holds only in the special case where a system is in equilibrium with a reservoir.
Thermodynamic entropy is determined by a heat measurement through the Clausius equality. The entropy then formalizes a fundamental limitation of operations by the second law of thermodynamics. The entropy is also expressed as the Shannon entropy of the microscopic degrees of freedom. Whenever an extension of thermodynamic entropy is attempted, we must pay special attention to how its three different aspects just mentioned are altered. In this paper, we discuss possible extensions of the thermodynamic entropy.
We provide a quantum statistical basis for (a)a characterisation of a complete set of thermodynamic variables and (b) the differentiability of the entropy function of these variables
We extend classical coarse-grained entropy, commonly used in many branches of physics, to the quantum realm. We find two coarse-grainings, one using measurements of local particle numbers and then total energy, and the second using local energy measurements, which lead to an entropy that is defined outside of equilibrium, is in accord with the thermodynamic entropy for equilibrium systems, and reaches the thermodynamic entropy in the long-time limit, even in genuinely isolated quantum systems. This answers the long-standing conceptual problem, as to which entropy is relevant for the formulatio…
It is shown that the laws of thermodynamics are extremely robust under generalizations of the form of entropy. Using the Bregman-type relative entropy, the Clausius inequality is proved to be always valid. This implies that thermodynamics is highly universal and does not rule out consistent generalization of the maximum entropy method.
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 in nonequilibrium (NEQ) fluctuations, which leads to so-called fluctuation theorems. The thermodynamic second law is a simple corollary of fluctuation theorems, from which one can predict quantitatively how often NEQ processes violate the law of entropy increase. Violations disappear in the thermodynamic limit, but can be observed reasonably well in small s…
The Boltzmann-Gibbs-von Neumann entropy of a large part (of linear size L) of some (much larger) d-dimensional quantum systems follows the so-called area law (as for black holes), i.e., it is proportional to $L^{d-1}$. Here we show, for d=1,2, that the (nonadditive) entropy S_q satisfies, for a special value of $q \neq 1$, the classical thermodynamical prescription for the entropy to be extensive, i.e., $S_q \propto L^d$. Therefore, we reconcile with classical thermodynamics the area law widespread in quantum systems. Recently, a similar behavior was exhibited, by M. Gell-Mann, Y. Sato and one…
We study the thermodynamic entropy as a Noether invariant in a stochastic process. Following the Onsager theory, we consider the Langevin equation for a thermodynamic variable in a thermally isolated system. By analyzing the Martin-Siggia-Rose-Janssen-de Dominicis action of the Langevin equation, we find that this action possesses a continuous symmetry in quasi-static processes, which leads to the thermodynamic entropy as the Noether invariant for the symmetry.
We combine the formalisms of diagonal entropy and Jarzynski Equality to study the thermodynamic properties of closed quantum systems. Applying this approach to a quantum harmonic oscillator, the diagonal entropy offers a notion of temperature for closed systems away from equilibrium, and allows computing free-energy profiles. We also apply this approach to a hard-core boson lattice model, and discuss measures how to estimate temperature, entropy and measure work distribution functions. This technique offers a path to investigate the non-equilibrium quantum dynamics by means of performing work …
The proper definition of entropy is fundamental to the relationship between statistical mechanics and thermodynamics. It also plays a major role in the recent debate about the validity of the concept of negative temperature. In this paper, I analyze and calculate the thermodynamic entropy for large, but finite quantum mechanical systems. A special feature of this analysis is that the thermodynamic energy of a quantum system is shown to be a continuous variable, rather than being associated with discrete energy eigenvalues. Calculations of the entropy as a function of energy can be carried out …
We propose to construct Markov dynamics with specified characteristics using a cycle decomposition of the space of Markov chains introduced by Cohen and Alpern. As an application of this approach, we derive the minimal entropy production required to generate prescribed thermodynamic currents.
The thermodynamic equilibrium states of a static thin ring shell in a (2+1)-dimensional flat spacetime is analyzed. Inside the ring the spacetime is flat, whereas outside it is conical flat. The first law of thermodynamics applied to the thin shell leads to a shell's entropy which is a function of its mass alone. Two simple forms for this mass function are given leading to two different expressions for the entropy. The equations of thermodynamic stability are analyzed resulting in certain allowed regions for the free parameters. Contrary to the usual (3+1)-dimensional case this shell's entropy…
We study a relationship between optimal transport theory and stochastic thermodynamics for the Fokker-Planck equation. We show that the lower bound on the entropy production is the action measured by the path length of the $L^2$-Wasserstein distance. Because the $L^2$-Wasserstein distance is a geometric measure of optimal transport theory, our result implies a geometric interpretation of the entropy production. Based on this interpretation, we obtain a thermodynamic trade-off relation between transition time and the entropy production. This thermodynamic trade-off relation is regarded as a the…
Conventional wisdom holds that the von Neumann entropy corresponds to thermodynamic entropy, but Hemmo and Shenker (2006) have recently argued against this view by attacking von Neumann (1955) and his argument. I argue that Hemmo and Shenker's arguments fail due to several misunderstandings: about statistical-mechanical and thermodynamic domains of applicability, about the nature of mixed states, and about the role of approximations in physics. As a result, their arguments fail in all cases: in the single-particle case, the finite particles case, and the infinite particles case.
The irreversible currents and entropy production rate of a dilute colloidal suspension are calculated using the linear irreversible thermodynamics and the linear response theory. The \anomalous" or \hidden" entropy recently discussed in the context of the stochastic thermodynamics is fully accounted in these classic frameworks. We show that the two distinct formulations lead to identical results as long as the local equilibrium assumption or, equivalently the linear response theory, is valid.
The concepts of quantity of heat and work are deduced in the non-extensive statistical mechanics context, following steps in parallel to those employed in the extensive statistical mechanics.
The transfer entropy is a well-established measure of information flow, which quantifies directed influence between two stochastic time series and has been shown to be useful in a variety fields of science. Here we introduce the transfer entropy of the backward time series called the backward transfer entropy, and show that the backward transfer entropy quantifies how far it is from dynamics to a hidden Markov model. Furthermore, we discuss physical interpretations of the backward transfer entropy in completely different settings of thermodynamics for information processing and the gambling wi…
Macroscopic nonextensive thermodynamics is studied without recourse to microscopic statistical mechanics. It is shown that if entropy is nonextensive, the concept of physical temperature introduced through the generalized zeroth law of thermodynamics necessarily leads to modifications of the first law of thermodynamics and some of thermodynamic relations including Clausius definition of thermodynamic entropy. It is also shown, by applying this generalized Clausius entropy to a composite nonextensive system, how the nonextensive entropy and the quantity of heat consistently behave in an arbitra…
We study a classical many-particle system with an external control represented by a time-dependent extensive parameter in a Lagrangian. We show that thermodynamic entropy of the system is uniquely characterized as the Noether invariant associated with a symmetry for an infinitesimal non-uniform time translation $t\to t+η\hbar β$, where $η$ is a small parameter, $\hbar$ is the Planck constant, $β$ is the inverse temperature that depends on the energy and control parameter, and trajectories in the phase space are restricted to those consistent with quasi-static processes in thermodynamics.
The thermodynamic stability condition (TSC) of Tsallis' entropy is revisited. As Ramshaw [Phys. Lett. A {\bf 198} (1995) 119] has already pointed out, the concavity of Tsallis' entropy with respect to the internal energy is not sufficient to guarantee thermodynamic stability for all values of $q$ due to the non-additivity of Tsallis' entropy. Taking account of the non-additivity the differential form of the TSC for Tsallis entropy is explicitly derived. It is shown that the resultant TSC for Tsallis' entropy is equivalent to the positivity of the standard specific heat. These results are consi…
A definition of the thermodynamic entropy based on the time-dependent probability distribution of the macroscopic variables is developed. When a constraint in a composite system is released, the probability distribution for the new equilibrium values goes to a narrow peak. Defining the entropy by the logarithm of the probability distribution automatically makes it a maximum at the equilibrium values, so it satisfies the Second Law. It is also satisfies the postulates of thermodynamics. Objections to this definition by Dieks and Peters are discussed and resolved.
Copula Entropy (CE) is a recently introduced concept for measuring correlation/dependence in information theory. In this paper, the theory of CE is introduced and the thermodynamic interpretation of CE is presented with N-particle correlated systems in equilibrium states.
The concept of negative temperature has recently received renewed interest in the context of debates about the correct definition of the thermodynamic entropy in statistical mechanics. Several researchers have identified the thermodynamic entropy exclusively with the "volume entropy'' suggested by Gibbs, and have further concluded that by this definition, negative temperatures violate the principles of thermodynamics. We disagree with these conclusions. We demonstrate that volume entropy is inconsistent with the postulates of thermodynamics for systems with non-monotonic energy densities, whil…
We present a pedagogical review of the fundamental concepts in thermodynamics of information, by focusing on the second law of thermodynamics and the entropy production. Especially, we discuss the relationship among thermodynamic reversibility, logical reversibility, and heat emission in the context of the Landauer principle and clarify that these three concepts are fundamentally distinct to each other. We also discuss thermodynamics of measurement and feedback control by Maxwell's demon. We clarify that the demon and the second law are indeed consistent in the measurement and the feedback pro…
Despite being a well-established operational approach to quantify entanglement, Rényi entropy calculations have been plagued by their computational complexity. We introduce here a theoretical framework based on an optimal thermodynamic integration scheme, where the Rényi entropy can be efficiently evaluated using regularizing paths. This approach avoids slowly convergent fluctuating contributions and leads to low-variance estimates. In this way, large system sizes and high levels of entanglement in model or first-principles Hamiltonians are within our reach. We demonstrate it in the one-dimens…
We analyze the relation between the nonequilibrium Lagrange multipliers used in information theory and those used in Liu's technique to exploit the entropy inequality. We observe that there is not a complete equivalence between Liu's technique and information theory.
We numerically determine the entropy for heat-conducting states, which is connected to the so-called excess heat considered as a basic quantity for steady-state thermodynamics in nonequilibrium. We adopt an efficient method to estimate the entropy from the bare heat current and find that the obtained entropy agrees with the familiar local equilibrium hypothesis well. Our method possesses a wider applicability than local equilibrium and opens a possibility to compare thermodynamic properties of complex systems with those in the local equilibrium. We further investigate the entropy for heat-cond…
A question that is currently highly debated is whether the microcanonical entropy should be expressed as the logarithm of the phase volume (volume entropy, also known as the Gibbs entropy) or as the logarithm of the density of states (surface entropy, also known as the Boltzmann entropy). Rather than postulating them and investigating the consequence of each definition, as is customary, here we adopt a bottom-up approach and construct the entropy expression within the microcanonical formalism upon two fundamental thermodynamic pillars: (i) The second law of thermodynamics as formulated for qua…
To the student of thermodynamics the most difficult subject is entropy. In this paper we examine the actual, practical application of entropy to two simple systems, the homogeneous slab with fixed boundary values of the temperature, and an isolated atmosphere in the presence of the static gravitational field. The first gives valuable insight into the nature of entropy that is subsequently applied to the second system. It is a basic tenet of thermodynamics that the equilibrium of an extended, homogeneous and isolated system is characterized by a uniform temperature distribution and it is a stro…
Bento \textit{et al.} [Phys. Rev. E 91, 022105 (2015)] recently stated that the Tsallis entropy violates the third law of thermodynamics for $0 < q <1$ in the sub-additive regime. We first show that the division between the regimes $q < 1$ and $q > 1$ is already inherent in the fundamental incomplete structure of the deformed logarithms and exponentials underlying the Tsallis entropy. Then, we provide the complete deformed functions and show that the Tsallis entropy conforms to the third law of thermodynamics for both super-additive $q < 1$ and sub-additive $q > 1$ regimes. Finally, we remark …
To investigate the consequences of component confinement such as at a glass transition and the well-known energy or enthalpy gap (between the glass and the perfect crystal at absolute zero, see text), we follow our previous approach [Phys. Rev. E 81, 051130 (2010)] of using the second law applied to an isolated system Σ_0 consisting of the homogeneous system Σ and the medium Σ. We establish on general grounds the continuity of the Gibbs free energy G(t) of Σ as a function of time at fixed temperature and pressure of the medium. It immediately follows from this and the observed continuity of th…
We introduce axiomatically a complete thermodynamic formalism for a single macromolecule, either with or without detailed balance, in an isothermal ambient fluid based on its stochastic dynamics. With detailed balance, the novel theory yields mesoscopic, nonequilibrium generalizations for entropy and free energy of the macromolecule. Mesoscopic energy and entropy fluctuate. Expectation of entropy production equals zero if and only if the macromolecule is at thermal equilibrium, in which we show entropy still fluctuates but free energy is a constant. The entropy fluctuation a la L.D. Landau, pr…
We revisit the concavity property of the thermodynamic entropy in order to formulate a general proof of the minimum energy principle as well as of other equivalent extremum principles that are valid for thermodynamic potentials and corresponding Massieu functions under different constraints. The current derivation aims at providing a coherent formal framework for such principles which may be also pedagogically useful as it fully exploits and highlights the equivalence between different schemes. We also elucidate the consequences of the extremum principles for the general shape of thermodynamic…
An analysis of the thermodynamic behavior of quantum systems can be performed from a geometrical perspective investigating the structure of the state space. We have developed such an analysis for nonextensive thermostatistical frameworks, making use of the q-divergence derived from Tsallis' entropy. Generalized expressions for operator variance and covariance are considered, in terms of which the fundamental tensor is given.
Within the nonextensive framework, it is shown that zeroth law of thermodynamics determines not only the mapping between Lagrange multipliers and intensive variables, but also the mapping between nonextensive and extensive entropy. The form of constraints decides the form of the extensive entropy, standard averages lead to Boltzmann-Shannon-Gibbs entropy while normalised biased averages lead to Renyi entropy. The mapping between Lagrange multipliers and intensive variables is also discussed in the more general context of composable entropy.
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 entropy itself and the second, the definition of entropy production rate which is nonnegative and vanishes in thermodynamic equilibrium. Based on these assumptions we study interacting systems with many degrees of freedom in equilibrium or out of thermodynamic equilibrium, and how the macroscopic laws are derived from the stochastic dynamics. These studies inc…
One of the most intriguing features of string thermodynamics is thermal duality, which relates the physics at temperature T to the physics at inverse temperature 1/T. Unfortunately, the traditional definitions of thermodynamic quantities such as entropy and specific heat are not invariant under thermal duality transformations. In this paper, we propose several novel approaches towards dealing with this issue. One approach yields a "bootstrap" method of extracting possible exact, closed-form solutions for finite-temperature effective potentials in string theory. Another approach involves extend…
We are discussing a universal non-unitary map M subsequent to a generic unitary map U, whose von Neumann entropy gain coincides with the calculated thermodynamic entropy production. For many-body quantum reservoirs we prove that M can be the averaging over all translations of the spatial frame. Assuming the coincidence of microscopic and macroscopic entropy productions leads to a novel equation between entropy gain of frame averaging and relative entropy. Our map M turns out to coincide with the older one called twirl, used recently in the theory of quantum reference frames. Related results to…
We employ classical thermodynamics to gain information about absolute entropy, without recourse to statistical methods, quantum mechanics or the Third Law of thermodynamics. The Gibbs-Duhem equation yields various simple methods to determine the absolute entropy of a fluid. We also study the entropy of an ideal gas and the ionization of a plasma in thermal equilibrium. A single measurement of the degree of ionization can be used to determine an unknown constant in the entropy equation, and thus determine the absolute entropy of a gas. It follows from all these examples that the value of entrop…
We study the nonextensive thermodynamics for open systems. On the basis of the maximum entropy principle, the dual power-law q-distribution functions are re-deduced by using the dual particle number definitions and assuming that the chemical potential is constant in the two sets of parallel formalisms, where the fundamental thermodynamic equations with dual interpretations of thermodynamic quantities are derived for the open systems. By introducing parallel structures of Legendre transformations, other thermodynamic equations with dual interpretations of quantities are also deduced in the open…
We consider the meta-equilibrium state of a composite system made up of independent subsystems satisfying the additive form of external constraints, as recently discussed by Abe [Phys. Rev. E {\bf 63}, 061105 (2001)]. We derive the additive entropy $S$ underlying a composable entropy $\tilde{S}$ by identifying the common intensive variable. The simplest form of composable entropy satisfies Tsallis-type nonadditivity and the most general composable form is interpreted as a monotonically increasing funtion $H$ of this simplest form. This is consistent with the observation that the meta-equilibri…
