Improved bound on entropy production in a quantum annealer.

For a system described by a multivariate probability density function obeying the fluctuation theorem, the average dissipation is lower bounded by the degree of asymmetry of the marginal distributions (namely the relative entropy between the marginal and its mirror image). We formally prove that such a lower bound is tighter than the recently reported bound expressed in terms of the precision of the marginal (i.e., the thermodynamic uncertainty relation) and is saturable. We illustrate the result with examples and we apply it to achieve one of the most accurate experimental estimations of dissipation associated with quantum annealing to date.

Charging a quantum battery via nonequilibrium heat current.

When a quantum system is subject to a thermal gradient it may sustain a steady nonequilibrium heat current by entering into a so-called nonequilibrium steady state (NESS). Here we show that NESS constitute a thermodynamic resource that can be exploited to charge a quantum battery. This adds to the list of recently reported sources available at the nanoscale, such as coherence, entanglement, and quantum measurements. We elucidate this concept by showing analytic and numerical studies of a two-qubit quantum battery that is alternatively charged by an incoherent heat flow and discharged by application of a properly chosen unitary gate. The presence of a NESS for the charging step guarantees steady operation with positive power output. Decreasing the duration of the charging step results in a time-periodic steady state accompanied by increased efficiency and output power. The device is amenable to implementation with different nanotechnology platforms.

Quantum Measurement Cooling.

Invasiveness of quantum measurements is a genuinely quantum mechanical feature that is not necessarily detrimental: Here we show how quantum measurements can be used to fuel a cooling engine. We illustrate quantum measurement cooling (QMC) by means of a prototypical two-stroke two-qubit engine which interacts with a measurement apparatus and two heat reservoirs at different temperatures. We show that feedback control is not necessary for operation while entanglement must be present in the measurement projectors. We quantify the probability that QMC occurs when the measurement basis is chosen randomly, and find that it can be very large as compared to the probability of extracting energy (heat engine operation), while remaining always smaller than the most useless operation, namely, dumping heat in both baths. These results show that QMC can be very robust to experimental noise. A possible low-temperature solid-state implementation that integrates circuit QED technology with circuit quantum thermodynamics technology is presented.

Extractable Work, the Role of Correlations, and Asymptotic Freedom in Quantum Batteries.

We investigate a quantum battery made of N two-level systems, which is charged by an optical mode via an energy-conserving interaction. We quantify the fraction of energy stored in the battery that can be extracted in order to perform thermodynamic work. We first demonstrate that this quantity is highly reduced by the presence of correlations between the charger and the battery or between the subsystems composing the battery. We then show that the correlation-induced suppression of extractable energy, however, can be mitigated by preparing the charger in a coherent optical state. We conclude by proving that the charger-battery system is asymptotically free of such locking correlations in the N→∞ limit.

Stiffness of probability distributions of work and Jarzynski relation for non-Gibbsian initial states.

We consider closed quantum systems (into which baths may be integrated) that are driven, i.e., subject to time-dependent Hamiltonians. Our point of departure is the assumption that if systems start in non-Gibbsian states at some initial energies, the resulting probability distributions of work may be largely independent of the specific initial energies. It is demonstrated that this assumption has some far-reaching consequences, e.g., it implies the validity of the Jarzynski relation for a large class of non-Gibbsian initial states. By performing numerical analysis on integrable and nonintegrable spin systems, we find the above assumption fulfilled for all examples considered. Through an analysis based on Fermi's golden rule, we partially relate these findings to the applicability of the eigenstate thermalization ansatz to the respective driving operators.

High-Power Collective Charging of a Solid-State Quantum Battery.

Quantum information theorems state that it is possible to exploit collective quantum resources to greatly enhance the charging power of quantum batteries (QBs) made of many identical elementary units. We here present and solve a model of a QB that can be engineered in solid-state architectures. It consists of N two-level systems coupled to a single photonic mode in a cavity. We contrast this collective model ("Dicke QB"), whereby entanglement is genuinely created by the common photonic mode, to the one in which each two-level system is coupled to its own separate cavity mode ("Rabi QB"). By employing exact diagonalization, we demonstrate the emergence of a quantum advantage in the charging power of Dicke QBs, which scales like sqrt[N] for N≫1.

Thermodynamics of quantum information scrambling.

Scrambling of quantum information can conveniently be quantified by so-called out-of-time-order correlators (OTOCs), i.e., correlators of the type 〈[W_{τ},V]^{†}[W_{τ},V]〉, whose measurements present a formidable experimental challenge. Here we report on a method for the measurement of OTOCs based on the so-called two-point measurement scheme developed in the field of nonequilibrium quantum thermodynamics. The scheme is of broader applicability than methods employed in current experiments and provides a clear-cut interpretation of quantum information scrambling in terms of nonequilibrium fluctuations of thermodynamic quantities, such as work and heat. Furthermore, we provide a numerical example on a spin chain which highlights the utility of our thermodynamic approach when understanding the differences between integrable and ergodic behaviors. We also discuss how the method can be used to extend the reach of current experiments.

The power of a critical heat engine.

Since its inception about two centuries ago thermodynamics has sparkled continuous interest and fundamental questions. According to the second law no heat engine can have an efficiency larger than Carnot's efficiency. The latter can be achieved by the Carnot engine, which however ideally operates in infinite time, hence delivers null power. A currently open question is whether the Carnot efficiency can be achieved at finite power. Most of the previous works addressed this question within the Onsager matrix formalism of linear response theory. Here we pursue a different route based on finite-size-scaling theory. We focus on quantum Otto engines and show that when the working substance is at the verge of a second order phase transition diverging energy fluctuations can enable approaching the Carnot point without sacrificing power. The rate of such approach is dictated by the critical indices, thus showing the universal character of our analysis.

Construction of microcanonical entropy on thermodynamic pillars.

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 quasistatic processes: δQ/T is an exact differential, and (ii) the law of ideal gases: PV=k(B)NT. The first pillar implies that entropy must be some function of the phase volume Ω. The second pillar singles out the logarithmic function among all possible functions. Hence the construction leads uniquely to the expression S=k(B)lnΩ, that is, the volume entropy. As a consequence any entropy expression other than that of Gibbs, e.g., the Boltzmann entropy, can lead to inconsistencies with the two thermodynamic pillars. We illustrate this with the prototypical example of a macroscopic collection of noninteracting spins in a magnetic field, and show that the Boltzmann entropy severely fails to predict the magnetization, even in the thermodynamic limit. The uniqueness of the Gibbs entropy, as well as the demonstrated potential harm of the Boltzmann entropy, provide compelling reasons for discarding the latter at once.

Quantum fluctuation theorems and generalized measurements during the force protocol.

Generalized measurements of an observable performed on a quantum system during a force protocol are investigated and conditions that guarantee the validity of the Jarzynski equality and the Crooks relation are formulated. In agreement with previous studies by M. Campisi, P. Talkner, and P. Hänggi [Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 140601 (2010); Phys. Rev. E 83, 041114 (2011)], we find that these fluctuation relations are satisfied for projective measurements; however, for generalized measurements special conditions on the operators determining the measurements need to be met. For the Jarzynski equality to hold, the measurement operators of the forward protocol must be normalized in a particular way. The Crooks relation additionally entails that the backward and forward measurement operators depend on each other. Yet, quite some freedom is left as to how the two sets of operators are interrelated. This ambiguity is removed if one considers selective measurements, which are specified by a joint probability density function of work and measurement results of the considered observable. We find that the respective forward and backward joint probabilities satisfy the Crooks relation only if the measurement operators of the forward and backward protocols are the time-reversed adjoints of each other. In this case, the work probability density function conditioned on the measurement result satisfies a modified Crooks relation. The modification appears as a protocol-dependent factor that can be expressed by the information gained by the measurements during the forward and backward protocols. Finally, detailed fluctuation theorems with an arbitrary number of intervening measurements are obtained.

Thermostated Hamiltonian dynamics with log oscillators.

With this work, we present two new methods for the generation of thermostatted, manifestly Hamiltonian dynamics and provide corresponding illustrations. The basis for this new class of thermostats is the peculiar thermodynamics as exhibited by logarithmic oscillators. These two schemes are best suited when applied to systems with a small number of degrees of freedom.

Logarithmic oscillators: ideal Hamiltonian thermostats.

A logarithmic oscillator (in short, log-oscillator) behaves like an ideal thermostat because of its infinite heat capacity: When it weakly couples to another system, time averages of the system observables agree with ensemble averages from a Gibbs distribution with a temperature T that is given by the strength of the logarithmic potential. The resulting equations of motion are Hamiltonian and may be implemented not only in a computer but also with real-world experiments, e.g., with cold atoms.

Nonequilibrium work statistics of an Aharonov-Bohm flux.

We investigate the statistics of work performed on a noninteracting electron gas confined in a ring as a threaded magnetic field is turned on. For an electron gas initially prepared in a grand canonical state it is demonstrated that the Jarzynski equality continues to hold in this case, with the free energy replaced by the grand potential. The work distribution displays a marked dependence on the temperature. While in the classical (high-temperature) regime, the work probability density function follows a Gaussian distribution and the free energy difference entering the Jarzynski equality is null, the free energy difference is finite in the quantum regime, and the work probability distribution function becomes multimodal. We point out the dependence of the work statistics on the number of electrons composing the system.

Influence of measurements on the statistics of work performed on a quantum system.

The recently demonstrated robustness of fluctuation theorems against measurements [M. Campisi, P. Talkner, and P. Hänggi, Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 140601 (2010).] does not imply that the probability distributions of nonequilibrium quantities, such as heat and work, remain unaffected. We determine the impact of measurements that are performed during a running force protocol on the characteristic function of work. The results are illustrated by means of the Landau-Zener(-Stückelberg-Majorana) model. In the limit of continuous measurements the quantum Zeno effect suppresses any unitary dynamics. It is demonstrated that the characteristic function of work is the same as for an adiabatic protocol when the continuously measured quantity coincides with the Hamiltonian governing the unitary dynamics of the system in the absence of measurements.

Quantum Bochkov-Kuzovlev work fluctuation theorems.

The quantum version of the Bochkov-Kuzovlev identity is derived on the basis of the appropriate definition of work as the difference of the measured internal energies of a quantum system at the beginning and the end of an external action on the system given by a prescribed protocol. According to the spirit of the original Bochkov-Kuzovlev approach, we adopt the 'exclusive' viewpoint, meaning that the coupling to the external work source is not counted as part of the internal energy. The corresponding canonical and microcanonical quantum fluctuation theorems are derived as well, and are compared with the respective theorems obtained within the 'inclusive' approach. The relations between the quantum inclusive work w, the exclusive work w(0) and the dissipated work w(dis), are discussed and clarified. We show by an explicit example that w(0) and w(dis) are distinct stochastic quantities obeying different statistics.

Fluctuation theorems for continuously monitored quantum fluxes.

It is shown that quantum fluctuation theorems remain unaffected if measurements of any kind and number of observables are performed during the action of a force protocol. That is, although the backward and forward probabilities entering the fluctuation theorems are both altered by these measurements, their ratio remains unchanged. This observation allows us to describe the measurement of fluxes through interfaces and, in this way, to bridge the gap between the current theory, based on only two measurements performed at the beginning and end of the protocol, and experiments that are based on continuous monitoring.

Finite bath fluctuation theorem.

We demonstrate that a finite bath fluctuation theorem of the Crooks type holds for systems that have been thermalized via weakly coupling them to a bath with energy independent finite specific heat. We show that this theorem reduces to the known canonical and microcanonical fluctuation theorems in the two respective limiting cases of infinite and vanishing specific heat of the bath. The result is elucidated by applying it to a two-dimensional hard disk colliding elastically with few other hard disks in a rectangular box with perfectly reflecting walls.