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arXiv:1301.7030 · Physical Review Letters

Measuring the Characteristic Function of the Work Distribution

L. Mazzola, Gabriele De Chiara, Mauro Paternostro

Published Jun 7, 2013• 252 citations
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Abstract

We propose an interferometric setting for the ancilla-assisted measurement of the characteristic function of the work distribution following a time-dependent process experienced by a quantum system. We identify how the configuration of the effective interferometer is linked to the symmetries enjoyed by the Hamiltonian ruling the process and provide the explicit form of the operations to implement in order to accomplish our task. We finally discuss two physical settings, based on hybrid optomechanical-electromechanical devices, where the theoretical proposals discussed in our work could find an experimental demonstration.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.110.230602

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We propose an interferometric setting for the ancilla-assisted measurement of the characteristic function of the work distribution following a time-dependent process experienced by a quantum system. We identify how the configuration of the effective interferometer is linked to the symmetries enjoyed by the Hamiltonian ruling the process and provide the explicit form of the operations to implement in order to accomplish our task. We finally discuss two physical settings, based on hybrid optomechanical-electromechanical devices, where the theoretical proposals discussed in our work could find an experimental demonstration.
We review the use of an external auxiliary detector for measuring the full distribution of the work performed on or extracted from a quantum system during a unitary thermodynamic process. We first illustrate two paradigmatic schemes that allow one to measure the work distribution: a Ramsey technique to measure the characteristic function and a positive operator valued measure (POVM) scheme to directly measure the work probability distribution. Then, we show that these two ideas can be understood in a unified framework for assessing work fluctuations through a generic quantum detector and describe two protocols that are able to yield complementary information. This allows us also to highlight how quantum work is affected by the presence of coherences in the system’s initial state. Finally, we describe physical implementations and experimental realisations of the first two schemes.
Out-of-equilibrium statistical mechanics is attracting considerable interest due to the recent advances in the control and manipulations of systems at the quantum level. Recently, an interferometric scheme for the detection of the characteristic function of the work distribution following a time-dependent process has been proposed [L. Mazzola {\it et al}, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 110} 230602 (2013)]. There, it was demonstrated that the work statistics of a quantum system undergoing a process can be reconstructed by effectively mapping the characteristic function of work on the state of an ancillary qubit. Here, we expand that work in two important directions. We first apply the protocol to an interesting specific physical example consisting of a superconducting qubit dispersively coupled to the field of a microwave resonator, thus enlarging the class of situations for which our scheme would be key in the task highlighted above. We then account for the interaction of the system with an additional one (which might embody an environment), and generalise the protocol accordingly.
Out-of-equilibrium statistical mechanics is attracting considerable interest due to the recent advances in the control and manipulations of systems at the quantum level. Recently, an interferometric scheme for the detection of the characteristic function of the work distribution following a time-dependent process has been proposed [L. Mazzola et al., Phys. Rev. Lett.110 (2013) 230602]. There, it was demonstrated that the work statistics of a quantum system undergoing a process can be reconstructed by effectively mapping the characteristic function of work on the state of an ancillary qubit. Here, we expand that work in two important directions. We first apply the protocol to an interesting specific physical example consisting of a superconducting qubit dispersively coupled to the field of a microwave resonator, thus enlarging the class of situations for which our scheme would be key in the task highlighted above. We then account for the interaction of the system with an additional one (which might embody an environment), and generalize the protocol accordingly.
Work is an observable quantity associated with a process; however, there is no Hermitian operator associated with its measurement. We consider an ancilla-assisted protocol measuring the work done on a quantum system driven by a time-dependent Hamiltonian via two von Neumann measurements of the system's energy carried out by a measuring apparatus modeled as a free particle of finite localization and interaction time with the system. We consider system Hamiltonians which both commute and do not commute at different times, finding corrections to fluctuation relations like the Jarzynski equality and the Crooks relation. This measurement model allows us to quantify the effect that measuring has on the estimated work distribution and associated average work done on the system and average heat exchanged with the measuring apparatus.
We present a proposal of a setup to measure the work distribution of a process acting on a quantum system emulated by the transverse degrees of freedom of classical light. Hermite-Gaussian optical modes are used to represent the energy eigenstates of a quantum harmonic oscillator prepared in a thermal state. The Fourier transform of the work distribution, or the characteristic function, can be obtained by measuring the light intensity at the output of a properly designed interferometer. The usefulness of the approach is illustrated by calculating the work distribution for a unitary operation that displaces the linear momentum of the oscillator. Other types of processes and quantum systems can be implemented with the same scheme. We also show that the setup can be used to investigate the energy distribution for open dynamics described by completely positive maps. We discuss the feasibility of the experiment, which can be realized with simple linear optical components.
We present a method to obtain the first-order temporal correlation function, ${g}^{(1)}(\ensuremath{\tau})$, of the light scattered by an assembly of pointlike quantum scatterers, or equivalently its spectral power distribution. This method is based on the mirror-assisted backscattering interferometric setup. The contrast of its angular fringes was already linked to the convolution of ${g}^{(1)}(\ensuremath{\tau})$ for different Rabi frequencies taking into account the incoming spatial intensity profile of the probe beam, but we show here that by simply adding a half wave plate to the interferometer in a specific configuration, the fringe contrast becomes ${g}^{(1)}(\ensuremath{\tau})$ of the light scattered by atoms, which are now all subjected to the same laser intensity. This method has direct application to obtaining the saturated spectrum of quantum systems. We discuss some nontrivial aspects of this interferometric setup and propose an analogy with a double Mach-Zehnder interferometer.