Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:2107.09932 · Entropy

Thermodynamics of Reduced State of the Field

Stefano Cusumano, Łukasz Rudnicki

Published Sep 11, 2021• 2 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Recent years have seen the flourishing of research devoted to quantum effects on mesoscopic and macroscopic scales. In this context, in Entropy 2019, 21, 705, a formalism aiming at describing macroscopic quantum fields, dubbed Reduced State of the Field (RSF), was envisaged. While, in the original work, a proper notion of entropy for macroscopic fields, together with their dynamical equations, was derived, here, we expand thermodynamic analysis of the RSF, discussing the notion of heat, solving dynamical equations in various regimes of interest, and showing the thermodynamic implications of these solutions.

DOI
10.3390/e23091198

Related papers

Classical description of bosonic quantum fields in terms of the reduced-state-of-the-field framework

Tomasz Linowski, Łukasz Rudnicki

We discuss compatibility between various quantum aspects of bosonic fields, relevant for quantum optics and quantum thermodynamics, and the mesoscopic formalism of reduced state of the field (RSF). In particular, we derive exact conditions under which Gaussian and Bogoliubov-type evolutions can be cast into the RSF framework. In that regard, special emphasis is put on Gaussian thermal operations. To strengthen the link between the RSF formalism and the notion of classicality for bosonic quantum fields, we prove that RSF contains no information about entanglement in two-mode Gaussian states. For the same purpose, we show that the entropic characterisation of RSF by means of the von Neumann entropy is qualitatively the same as its description based on the Wehrl entropy. Our findings help bridge the conceptual gap between quantum and classical mechanics.

•Jul 7, 2021•2 citations

Quantum Features of Macroscopic Fields: Entropy and Dynamics

Robert Alicki

Macroscopic fields such as electromagnetic, magnetohydrodynamic, acoustic or gravitational waves are usually described by classical wave equations with possible additional damping terms and coherent sources. The aim of this paper is to develop a complete macroscopic formalism including random/thermal sources, dissipation and random scattering of waves by environment. The proposed reduced state of the field combines averaged field with the two-point correlation function called single-particle density matrix. The evolution equation for the reduced state of the field is obtained by reduction of the generalized quasi-free dynamical semigroups describing irreversible evolution of bosonic quantum field and the definition of entropy for the reduced state of the field follows from the von Neumann entropy of quantum field states. The presented formalism can be applied, for example, to superradiance phenomena and allows unifying the Mueller and Jones calculi in polarization optics.

arXiv:1904.06170•Entropy•Jul 18, 2019•9 citations

Quantum stochastic thermodynamics of macroscopic systems: an algebraic approach

Antoine Rignon-Bret, Cyril Elouard

We build a framework for the thermodynamics of macroscopic quantum systems. In contrast with approaches requiring access to the full density matrix, our framework relies on a coarse-grained description, based on measurement statistics of a few observables. When these observables commute, the outcomes define classical macrostates whose entropy is quantified by observational entropy, accounting for uncertainty about both the macrostate and the microstate within it. We extend this notion to non-commuting observables forming a subalgebra of the operator space, and use Jaynes' principle to define an algebra-dependent entropy interpolating between von Neumann and observational entropies. Given initial and final measurement sets, connected by internal and/or environment-induced dynamics, we derive a second law for the coarse-grained dynamics. Unlike formulations based on von Neumann entropy, our inequality captures irreversibility from both non-unitary environment-induced dynamics and internal equilibration. It takes the usual form of a positive entropy production when the system is initially at internal equilibrium, while correction terms capture nonequilibrium resources ignored by the coarse-graining. We also derive fluctuation theorems for coarse-grained thermodynamic quantities. Along a quasi-static path of measurement schemes, we identify quantum macroscopic notions of work and heat fulfilling the first and second laws, including an additional work contribution from manipulating the algebra to which the system is confined, through external constraints or quantum measurement backaction. Finally, we apply our framework to examples illustrating the impact of varying the coarse-graining scheme. Our approach unifies macroscopic and stochastic thermodynamics in a genuinely quantum framework, laying the basis for a versatile, experimentally friendly toolbox to analyze complex quantum dynamics.

quant-pharXiv:2607.09242•Jul 13, 2026•0 citations

Perspective on quantum thermodynamics

James Millen, André Xuereb

Classical thermodynamics is unrivalled in its range of applications and relevance to everyday life. It enables a description of complex systems, made up of microscopic particles, in terms of a small number of macroscopic quantities, such as work and entropy. As systems get ever smaller, fluctuations of these quantities become increasingly relevant, prompting the development of stochastic thermodynamics. Recently we have seen a surge of interest in exploring the quantum regime, where the origin of fluctuations is quantum rather than thermal. Many questions, such as the role of entanglement and the emergence of thermalisation, lie wide open. Answering these questions may lead to the development of quantum heat engines and refrigerators, as well as to vitally needed simple descriptions of quantum many-body systems.

arXiv:1509.01086•New Journal of Physics•Jan 12, 2016•212 citations

Reduced state of the field and classicality of quantum Gaussian evolution

Tomasz Linowski, Łukasz Rudnicki

The notion of classicality of quantum evolution of light is an object of both conceptual and practical importance. The main goal of this work is to derive the exact conditions for the classicality of quantum Gaussian evolution, i.e., the evolution of Gaussian states of light and their convex combinations, a model which is of great significance in quantum optics and information. According to our findings, quantum Gaussian evolution should be considered classical if the Hamiltonian and Lindblad operators generating it correspond to passive optical transformations. This is illustrated with several explicit examples, ranging from Gaussian thermal operations to entanglement-maximizing dissipative engineering. Our results are obtained using the recently introduced mesoscopic formalism of the reduced state of the field, which was originally devised as as a description of macroscopic quantum fields. Here, to make the framework suitable for our goal, we redevelop it as a tool for probing classicality, which constitutes our second main contribution.

arXiv:2107.03196•Physical Review A•Dec 5, 2022•2 citations

Quantum thermodynamics as a gauge theory

Gabriel Fernandez Ferrari, Łukasz Rudnicki, Lucas C. Céleri

Thermodynamics is based on a coarse-grained approach, from which its fundamental variables emerge, effectively erasing the complicated details of the microscopic dynamics within a macroscopic system. The strength of thermodynamics lies in the universality provided by this paradigm. In contrast, quantum mechanics focuses on describing the dynamics of microscopic systems, aiming to make predictions about experiments we perform, a goal shared by all fundamental physical theories, which are often framed as gauge theories in modern physics. Recently, a gauge theory for quantum thermodynamics was introduced, defining gauge-invariant work and heat, and exploring their connections to quantum phenomena. In this work, we extend that theory in two significant ways. First, we incorporate energy spectrum degeneracies, which were previously overlooked. Additionally, we define gauge-invariant entropy, exploring its properties and connections to other physical and informational quantities. This results in a complete framework for quantum thermodynamics grounded in the principle of gauge invariance. To demonstrate some implications of this theory, we apply it to well-known critical systems.

arXiv:2409.07676•Physical Review A•May 12, 2025•4 citations
Recent years have seen the flourishing of research devoted to quantum effects on mesoscopic and macroscopic scales. In this context, in Entropy 2019, 21, 705, a formalism aiming at describing macroscopic quantum fields, dubbed Reduced State of the Field (RSF), was envisaged. While, in the original work, a proper notion of entropy for macroscopic fields, together with their dynamical equations, was derived, here, we expand thermodynamic analysis of the RSF, discussing the notion of heat, solving dynamical equations in various regimes of interest, and showing the thermodynamic implications of these solutions.
We discuss compatibility between various quantum aspects of bosonic fields, relevant for quantum optics and quantum thermodynamics, and the mesoscopic formalism of reduced state of the field (RSF). In particular, we derive exact conditions under which Gaussian and Bogoliubov-type evolutions can be cast into the RSF framework. In that regard, special emphasis is put on Gaussian thermal operations. To strengthen the link between the RSF formalism and the notion of classicality for bosonic quantum fields, we prove that RSF contains no information about entanglement in two-mode Gaussian states. For the same purpose, we show that the entropic characterisation of RSF by means of the von Neumann entropy is qualitatively the same as its description based on the Wehrl entropy. Our findings help bridge the conceptual gap between quantum and classical mechanics.
Macroscopic fields such as electromagnetic, magnetohydrodynamic, acoustic or gravitational waves are usually described by classical wave equations with possible additional damping terms and coherent sources. The aim of this paper is to develop a complete macroscopic formalism including random/thermal sources, dissipation and random scattering of waves by environment. The proposed reduced state of the field combines averaged field with the two-point correlation function called single-particle density matrix. The evolution equation for the reduced state of the field is obtained by reduction of the generalized quasi-free dynamical semigroups describing irreversible evolution of bosonic quantum field and the definition of entropy for the reduced state of the field follows from the von Neumann entropy of quantum field states. The presented formalism can be applied, for example, to superradiance phenomena and allows unifying the Mueller and Jones calculi in polarization optics.
We build a framework for the thermodynamics of macroscopic quantum systems. In contrast with approaches requiring access to the full density matrix, our framework relies on a coarse-grained description, based on measurement statistics of a few observables. When these observables commute, the outcomes define classical macrostates whose entropy is quantified by observational entropy, accounting for uncertainty about both the macrostate and the microstate within it. We extend this notion to non-commuting observables forming a subalgebra of the operator space, and use Jaynes' principle to define an algebra-dependent entropy interpolating between von Neumann and observational entropies. Given initial and final measurement sets, connected by internal and/or environment-induced dynamics, we derive a second law for the coarse-grained dynamics. Unlike formulations based on von Neumann entropy, our inequality captures irreversibility from both non-unitary environment-induced dynamics and internal equilibration. It takes the usual form of a positive entropy production when the system is initially at internal equilibrium, while correction terms capture nonequilibrium resources ignored by the coarse-graining. We also derive fluctuation theorems for coarse-grained thermodynamic quantities. Along a quasi-static path of measurement schemes, we identify quantum macroscopic notions of work and heat fulfilling the first and second laws, including an additional work contribution from manipulating the algebra to which the system is confined, through external constraints or quantum measurement backaction. Finally, we apply our framework to examples illustrating the impact of varying the coarse-graining scheme. Our approach unifies macroscopic and stochastic thermodynamics in a genuinely quantum framework, laying the basis for a versatile, experimentally friendly toolbox to analyze complex quantum dynamics.
Classical thermodynamics is unrivalled in its range of applications and relevance to everyday life. It enables a description of complex systems, made up of microscopic particles, in terms of a small number of macroscopic quantities, such as work and entropy. As systems get ever smaller, fluctuations of these quantities become increasingly relevant, prompting the development of stochastic thermodynamics. Recently we have seen a surge of interest in exploring the quantum regime, where the origin of fluctuations is quantum rather than thermal. Many questions, such as the role of entanglement and the emergence of thermalisation, lie wide open. Answering these questions may lead to the development of quantum heat engines and refrigerators, as well as to vitally needed simple descriptions of quantum many-body systems.
The notion of classicality of quantum evolution of light is an object of both conceptual and practical importance. The main goal of this work is to derive the exact conditions for the classicality of quantum Gaussian evolution, i.e., the evolution of Gaussian states of light and their convex combinations, a model which is of great significance in quantum optics and information. According to our findings, quantum Gaussian evolution should be considered classical if the Hamiltonian and Lindblad operators generating it correspond to passive optical transformations. This is illustrated with several explicit examples, ranging from Gaussian thermal operations to entanglement-maximizing dissipative engineering. Our results are obtained using the recently introduced mesoscopic formalism of the reduced state of the field, which was originally devised as as a description of macroscopic quantum fields. Here, to make the framework suitable for our goal, we redevelop it as a tool for probing classicality, which constitutes our second main contribution.
Thermodynamics is based on a coarse-grained approach, from which its fundamental variables emerge, effectively erasing the complicated details of the microscopic dynamics within a macroscopic system. The strength of thermodynamics lies in the universality provided by this paradigm. In contrast, quantum mechanics focuses on describing the dynamics of microscopic systems, aiming to make predictions about experiments we perform, a goal shared by all fundamental physical theories, which are often framed as gauge theories in modern physics. Recently, a gauge theory for quantum thermodynamics was introduced, defining gauge-invariant work and heat, and exploring their connections to quantum phenomena. In this work, we extend that theory in two significant ways. First, we incorporate energy spectrum degeneracies, which were previously overlooked. Additionally, we define gauge-invariant entropy, exploring its properties and connections to other physical and informational quantities. This results in a complete framework for quantum thermodynamics grounded in the principle of gauge invariance. To demonstrate some implications of this theory, we apply it to well-known critical systems.