Maximum entropy-principle approach to quantum storage in strongly correlated systems

Frank Hansen

Shang-Yung Wang

We present a critical examination of the difficulties with the quantum versions of a lifted weight that are widely used as work storage systems in quantum thermodynamics. To overcome those difficulties, we turn to the strong connections between information and thermodynamics illuminated by Szilard’s engine and Landauer’s principle, and consider the concept of informational work storage. This concept is in sharp contrast with the usual one of mechanical work storage underlying the idealization of a quantum weight. An informational work storage system based on maximally mixed qubits that does not act as an entropy sink and is capable of truly distinguishing work from heat is studied. Applying it to the problem of single-shot work extraction in various extraction schemes, we show that for a given system state the maximum extractable work is independent of extraction scheme, in accordance with the second law of thermodynamics.

Petr Jizba B, Jan Korbel

In this Letter, we show that the Shore-Johnson axioms for the maximum entropy principle in statistical estimation theory account for a considerably wider class of entropic functional than previously thought. Apart from a formal side of the proof where a one-parameter class of admissible entropies is identified, we substantiate our point by analyzing the effect of weak correlations and by discussing two pertinent examples: two-qubit quantum system and transverse-momentum behavior of hadrons in high-energy proton-proton collisions.

Mourad Mazouni

Makoto Ohya, D�nes Petz

Qiao Gu

The maximum entropy principle discovered by Jaynes E T governs a search of the most reasonable probability assignment of stochastic variable,based on the measured data.One of the simplest applications of this principle lies in that all the thermodynamical relations are derived from the maximizing entropy of the system with energy as a single measured value.The maximum entropy principle is used then for the radiation field as a quantum system.Our results show that with an increase of the number of measurable quantities,the thermal field,the coherent states as well as the squeezed states are automatically introduced in turn;in particular,the dependence of all the properties of these radiation fields on the thermal noise is formulated quantitatively.The fundamental results obtained in this paper are expected to provide a basis for applications of the maximum entropy principle in some fields,such as quantum optics,quantum informatics,biophotonics,and related interdisciplinary science.