Fundamental limitations for quantum and nanoscale thermodynamics
TL;DR: It is found that there are fundamental limitations on work extraction from non-equilibrium states, owing to finite size effects and quantum coherences, which implies that thermodynamical transitions are generically irreversible at this scale.
Abstract: The usual laws of thermodynamics that are valid for macroscopic systems do not necessarily apply to the nanoscale, where quantum effects become important. Here, the authors develop a theoretical framework based on quantum information theory to properly treat thermodynamics at the nanoscale.
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TL;DR: An operational theory of coherence (or of superposition) in quantum systems is established, by focusing on the optimal rate of performance of certain tasks, by demonstrating that the coherence theory is generically an irreversible theory by a simple criterion that completely characterizes all reversible states.
Abstract: We establish an operational theory of coherence (or of superposition) in quantum systems, by focusing on the optimal rate of performance of certain tasks. Namely, we introduce the two basic concepts-"coherence distillation" and "coherence cost"-in the processing quantum states under so-called incoherent operations [Baumgratz, Cramer, and Plenio, Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 140401 (2014)]. We, then, show that, in the asymptotic limit of many copies of a state, both are given by simple single-letter formulas: the distillable coherence is given by the relative entropy of coherence (in other words, we give the relative entropy of coherence its operational interpretation), and the coherence cost by the coherence of formation, which is an optimization over convex decompositions of the state. An immediate corollary is that there exists no bound coherent state in the sense that one would need to consume coherence to create the state, but no coherence could be distilled from it. Further, we demonstrate that the coherence theory is generically an irreversible theory by a simple criterion that completely characterizes all reversible states.
876 citations
TL;DR: This paper introduced a new development in theoretical quantum physics, the ''resource-theoretic'' point of view, which aims to be closely linked to experiment, and to state exactly what result you can hope to achieve for what expenditure of effort in the laboratory.
Abstract: This review introduces a new development in theoretical quantum physics, the ``resource-theoretic'' point of view. The approach aims to be closely linked to experiment, and to state exactly what result you can hope to achieve for what expenditure of effort in the laboratory. This development is an extension of the principles of thermodynamics to quantum problems; but there are resources that would never have been considered previously in thermodynamics, such as shared knowledge of a frame of reference. Many additional examples and new quantifications of resources are provided.
841 citations
Cites background from "Fundamental limitations for quantum..."
...As first introduced by Janzing et al. (2000) and later extended in Brandão et al. (2013) and Horodecki and Oppenheim (2013a), the free operations in the QRT of athermality consist of all physical dynamics that conserve total energy as the system exchanges heat with the bath....
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...The purpose of this article is to review the plethora of features that unite all of these theories together under a common resource-theoretic framework, similar to the approach taken in Horodecki and Oppenheim (2013b)....
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...Whereas macroscopic state transfor- mations via heat exchange are essentially governed by a decrease in free energy, in the quantum regime, more constraints dictate whether or not a given transformation is possible (Brandão et al., 2015a; Gour et al., 2018b; Horodecki and Oppenheim, 2013a)....
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...In terms of resource convertibility, when ρ and σ both commute with the Hamiltonian, if ρ can be converted to σ by some Gibbs-preserving map, then it can also be converted by thermal operations (Horodecki and Oppenheim, 2013a; Janzing et al., 2000; Korzekwa, 2016)....
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TL;DR: Here, it is found that for processes which are approximately cyclic, the second law for microscopic systems takes on a different form compared to the macroscopic scale, imposing not just one constraint on state transformations, but an entire family of constraints.
Abstract: The second law of thermodynamics places constraints on state transformations. It applies to systems composed of many particles, however, we are seeing that one can formulate laws of thermodynamics when only a small number of particles are interacting with a heat bath. Is there a second law of thermodynamics in this regime? Here, we find that for processes which are approximately cyclic, the second law for microscopic systems takes on a different form compared to the macroscopic scale, imposing not just one constraint on state transformations, but an entire family of constraints. We find a family of free energies which generalize the traditional one, and show that they can never increase. The ordinary second law relates to one of these, with the remainder imposing additional constraints on thermodynamic transitions. We find three regimes which determine which family of second laws govern state transitions, depending on how cyclic the process is. In one regime one can cause an apparent violation of the usual second law, through a process of embezzling work from a large system which remains arbitrarily close to its original state. These second laws are relevant for small systems, and also apply to individual macroscopic systems interacting via long-range interactions. By making precise the definition of thermal operations, the laws of thermodynamics are unified in this framework, with the first law defining the class of operations, the zeroth law emerging as an equivalence relation between thermal states, and the remaining laws being monotonicity of our generalized free energies.
743 citations
TL;DR: Quantum thermodynamics is an emerging research field aiming to extend standard thermodynamics and non-equilibrium statistical physics to ensembles of sizes well below the thermodynamic limit.
Abstract: Quantum thermodynamics is an emerging research field aiming to extend standard thermodynamics and non-equilibrium statistical physics to ensembles of sizes well below the thermodynamic limit, in non-equilibrium situations, and with the full inclusion of quantum effects Fuelled by experimental advances and the potential of future nanoscale applications this research effort is pursued by scientists with different backgrounds, including statistical physics, many-body theory, mesoscopic physics and quantum information theory, who bring various tools and methods to the field A multitude of theoretical questions are being addressed ranging from issues of thermalisation of quantum systems and various definitions of "work", to the efficiency and power of quantum engines This overview provides a perspective on a selection of these current trends accessible to postgraduate students and researchers alike
732 citations
TL;DR: It is shown that free energy relations cannot properly describe quantum coherence in thermodynamic processes, and it is found that coherence transformations are always irreversible.
Abstract: Recent studies have developed fundamental limitations on nanoscale thermodynamics, in terms of a set of independent free energy relations. Here we show that free energy relations cannot properly describe quantum coherence in thermodynamic processes. By casting time-asymmetry as a quantifiable, fundamental resource of a quantum state, we arrive at an additional, independent set of thermodynamic constraints that naturally extend the existing ones. These asymmetry relations reveal that the traditional Szilard engine argument does not extend automatically to quantum coherences, but instead only relational coherences in a multipartite scenario can contribute to thermodynamic work. We find that coherence transformations are always irreversible. Our results also reveal additional structural parallels between thermodynamics and the theory of entanglement. The statistical nature of standard thermodynamics provides an incomplete picture for individual processes at the nanoscale, and new relations have been developed to extend it. Here, the authors show that by quantifying time-asymmetry it is also possible to characterize how quantum coherence is modified in such processes.
664 citations
Cites background or methods from "Fundamental limitations for quantum..."
...The approach most suited to our needs in this work is the one followed in [21, 25, 27, 28], which has emerged from the theory of entanglement [20]....
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...entropy [15] ρ⊗n → σ⊗m F (ρ) = S(ρ||γ) infσ∈S S(ρ||σ) W → (p, 0)→W ′ < W Non-cyclicity [25] Ent....
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...However, as already noted in [21, 25], this framework can encompass such scenarios through the inclusion of a clock degree of freedom....
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...This idealised “work bit” is a two-level system with Hamiltonian Hw = w |w〉 〈w| [25]....
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...This also sheds light on the origin of the irreversibility noticed in [25]....
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References
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TL;DR: It is proved that an EPP involving one-way classical communication and acting on mixed state M (obtained by sharing halves of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen pairs through a channel) yields a QECC on \ensuremath{\chi} with rate Q=D, and vice versa, and it is proved Q is not increased by adding one- way classical communication.
Abstract: Entanglement purification protocols (EPPs) and quantum error-correcting codes (QECCs) provide two ways of protecting quantum states from interaction with the environment. In an EPP, perfectly entangled pure states are extracted, with some yield D, from a mixed state M shared by two parties; with a QECC, an arbitrary quantum state |\ensuremath{\xi}〉 can be transmitted at some rate Q through a noisy channel \ensuremath{\chi} without degradation. We prove that an EPP involving one-way classical communication and acting on mixed state M^(\ensuremath{\chi}) (obtained by sharing halves of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen pairs through a channel \ensuremath{\chi}) yields a QECC on \ensuremath{\chi} with rate Q=D, and vice versa. We compare the amount of entanglement E(M) required to prepare a mixed state M by local actions with the amounts ${\mathit{D}}_{1}$(M) and ${\mathit{D}}_{2}$(M) that can be locally distilled from it by EPPs using one- and two-way classical communication, respectively, and give an exact expression for E(M) when M is Bell diagonal. While EPPs require classical communication, QECCs do not, and we prove Q is not increased by adding one-way classical communication. However, both D and Q can be increased by adding two-way communication. We show that certain noisy quantum channels, for example a 50% depolarizing channel, can be used for reliable transmission of quantum states if two-way communication is available, but cannot be used if only one-way communication is available. We exhibit a family of codes based on universal hashing able to achieve an asymptotic Q (or D) of 1-S for simple noise models, where S is the error entropy. We also obtain a specific, simple 5-bit single-error-correcting quantum block code. We prove that iff a QECC results in high fidelity for the case of no error then the QECC can be recast into a form where the encoder is the matrix inverse of the decoder. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
4,563 citations
TL;DR: Any classically correlated state can be modeled by a hidden-variable theory and hence satisfies all generalized Bell's inequalities and the converse of this statement is false.
Abstract: A state of a composite quantum system is called classically correlated if it can be approximated by convex combinations of product states, and Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen correlated otherwise. Any classically correlated state can be modeled by a hidden-variable theory and hence satisfies all generalized Bell's inequalities. It is shown by an explicit example that the converse of this statement is false.
3,524 citations
TL;DR: Any pure or mixed entangled state of two systems can be produced by two classically communicating separated observers, drawing on a supply of singlets as their sole source of entanglement.
Abstract: If two separated observers are supplied with entanglement, in the form of n pairs of particles in identical partly entangled pure states, one member of each pair being given to each observer, they can, by local actions of each observer, concentrate this entanglement into a smaller number of maximally entangled pairs of particles, for example, Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen singlets, similarly shared between the two observers. The concentration process asymptotically conserves entropy of entanglement---the von Neumann entropy of the partial density matrix seen by either observer---with the yield of singlets approaching, for large n, the base-2 entropy of entanglement of the initial partly entangled pure state. Conversely, any pure or mixed entangled state of two systems can be produced by two classically communicating separated observers, drawing on a supply of singlets as their sole source of entanglement. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
2,633 citations
"Fundamental limitations for quantum..." refers background in this paper
...Recent examples of such theories include entanglement theory[20, 29], thermodynamics with no Hamiltonian[19], thermodynamics of erasure[30] and operations which respect a symmetry[31, 32]....
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IBM1
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors consider the problem of rendering a computation logically reversible (e.g., creation and annihilation of a history file) in a Brownian computer, and show that it is not the making of a measurement that prevents the demon from breaking the second law but rather the logically irreversible act of erasing the record of one measurement to make room for the next.
Abstract: Computers may be thought of as engines for transforming free energy into waste heat and mathematical work. Existing electronic computers dissipate energy vastly in excess of the mean thermal energykT, for purposes such as maintaining volatile storage devices in a bistable condition, synchronizing and standardizing signals, and maximizing switching speed. On the other hand, recent models due to Fredkin and Toffoli show that in principle a computer could compute at finite speed with zero energy dissipation and zero error. In these models, a simple assemblage of simple but idealized mechanical parts (e.g., hard spheres and flat plates) determines a ballistic trajectory isomorphic with the desired computation, a trajectory therefore not foreseen in detail by the builder of the computer. In a classical or semiclassical setting, ballistic models are unrealistic because they require the parts to be assembled with perfect precision and isolated from thermal noise, which would eventually randomize the trajectory and lead to errors. Possibly quantum effects could be exploited to prevent this undesired equipartition of the kinetic energy. Another family of models may be called Brownian computers, because they allow thermal noise to influence the trajectory so strongly that it becomes a random walk through the entire accessible (low-potential-energy) portion of the computer's configuration space. In these computers, a simple assemblage of simple parts determines a low-energy labyrinth isomorphic to the desired computation, through which the system executes its random walk, with a slight drift velocity due to a weak driving force in the direction of forward computation. In return for their greater realism, Brownian models are more dissipative than ballistic ones: the drift velocity is proportional to the driving force, and hence the energy dissipated approaches zero only in the limit of zero speed. In this regard Brownian models resemble the traditional apparatus of thermodynamic thought experiments, where reversibility is also typically only attainable in the limit of zero speed. The enzymatic apparatus of DNA replication, transcription, and translation appear to be nature's closest approach to a Brownian computer, dissipating 20–100kT per step. Both the ballistic and Brownian computers require a change in programming style: computations must be renderedlogically reversible, so that no machine state has more than one logical predecessor. In a ballistic computer, the merging of two trajectories clearly cannot be brought about by purely conservative forces; in a Brownian computer, any extensive amount of merging of computation paths would cause the Brownian computer to spend most of its time bogged down in extraneous predecessors of states on the intended path, unless an extra driving force ofkTln2 were applied (and dissipated) at each merge point. The mathematical means of rendering a computation logically reversible (e.g., creation and annihilation of a history file) will be discussed. The old Maxwell's demon problem is discussed in the light of the relation between logical and thermodynamic reversibility: the essential irreversible step, which prevents the demon from breaking the second law, is not the making of a measurement (which in principle can be done reversibly) but rather the logically irreversible act of erasing the record of one measurement to make room for the next. Converse to the rule that logically irreversible operations on data require an entropy increase elsewhere in the computer is the fact that a tape full of zeros, or one containing some computable pseudorandom sequence such as pi, has fuel value and can be made to do useful thermodynamic work as it randomizes itself. A tape containing an algorithmically random sequence lacks this ability.
1,637 citations
"Fundamental limitations for quantum..." refers background in this paper
...Already, molecular motors and micro-machines[1– 6] have been constructed in the lab[7–10] and thermodynamical effects are increasingly important in quantum devices and in the construction of quantum computers and memory[11, 12]....
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TL;DR: In this paper, the constructive role of Brownian motion is exemplified for various physical and technological setups, which are inspired by the cellular molecular machinery: the working principles and characteristics of stylized devices are discussed to show how fluctuations, either thermal or extrinsic, can be used to control diffusive particle transport.
Abstract: In systems possessing spatial or dynamical symmetry breaking, Brownian motion combined with unbiased external input signals, deterministic and random alike, can assist directed motion of particles at submicron scales. In such cases, one speaks of ``Brownian motors.'' In this review the constructive role of Brownian motion is exemplified for various physical and technological setups, which are inspired by the cellular molecular machinery: the working principles and characteristics of stylized devices are discussed to show how fluctuations, either thermal or extrinsic, can be used to control diffusive particle transport. Recent experimental demonstrations of this concept are surveyed with particular attention to transport in artificial, i.e., nonbiological, nanopores, lithographic tracks, and optical traps, where single-particle currents were first measured. Much emphasis is given to two- and three-dimensional devices containing many interacting particles of one or more species; for this class of artificial motors, noise rectification results also from the interplay of particle Brownian motion and geometric constraints. Recently, selective control and optimization of the transport of interacting colloidal particles and magnetic vortices have been successfully achieved, thus leading to the new generation of microfluidic and superconducting devices presented here. The field has recently been enriched with impressive experimental achievements in building artificial Brownian motor devices that even operate within the quantum domain by harvesting quantum Brownian motion. Sundry akin topics include activities aimed at noise-assisted shuttling other degrees of freedom such as charge, spin, or even heat and the assembly of chemical synthetic molecular motors. This review ends with a perspective for future pathways and potential new applications.
1,319 citations