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arXiv:2609.17032

Thermodynamic Uncertainty of Work in Time-Dependently Driven Open Quantum Systems

Chulan Kwon

quant-phSubmitted Sep 15, 2026• Announced Sep 16, 2026• 0 citations
v1 · Sep 15, 2026v2 · Sep 16, 2026
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Abstract

We derive a thermodynamic uncertainty relation for work in an open quantum system driven by a time-dependent protocol and subject to repeated projective energy measurements. The protocol is represented by a sequence of protocol quenches separated by finite-time Lindblad evolution, so that work is accumulated at the quenches while dissipation occurs between them. The resulting work statistics obey the Gallavotti-Cohen symmetry to give rise to the Crooks and Jarzynski fluctuation relations. By perturbing the dissipative dynamics and combining the Cramér--Rao inequality with the quantum Fisher information, we obtain $\mathrm{Var}\,{\cal W}/[τ\partial_τ\langle{\cal W}\rangle]^2\ge 1/{\cal F}\ge\max(1/{\cal A},2/{\cal E})$, where $\langle{\cal W}\rangle$ is the work expectation value, $\mathrm{Var}\,{\cal W}$ is the variance of work, ${\cal F}$ is the Fisher information, ${\cal A}$ is the dynamical activity, ${\cal E}$ is the dimensionless entropy production, and $τ$ is the switching time interval between quenches. The two thermodynamic bounds follow from two independent perturbations that generate the same response of the work statistics. We illustrate the relation for a dissipative two-level system under square-wave and sinusoidal driving and show that the tighter thermodynamic bound can depend on the driving protocol and switching time scale.

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5 pages, 3 figures, 1 supplementary material

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