Quantum Fluctuation Theorems for Arbitrary Environments: Adiabatic and Nonadiabatic Entropy Production

We analyze the production of entropy along nonequilibrium processes in quantum systems coupled to generic environments. First, we show that the entropy production due to final measurements and the loss of correlations obeys a fluctuation theorem in detailed and integral forms. Second, we discuss the...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Manzano, Gonzalo, Parrondo, Juan M. R., Horowitz, Jordan M.
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Physical Society 2018
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/117333
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9139-0811
Description
Summary:We analyze the production of entropy along nonequilibrium processes in quantum systems coupled to generic environments. First, we show that the entropy production due to final measurements and the loss of correlations obeys a fluctuation theorem in detailed and integral forms. Second, we discuss the decomposition of the entropy production into two positive contributions, adiabatic and nonadiabatic, based on the existence of invariant states of the local dynamics. Fluctuation theorems for both contributions hold only for evolutions verifying a specific condition of quantum origin. We illustrate our results with three relevant examples of quantum thermodynamic processes far from equilibrium.