Entropy production in quantum

Y. Tokura

Tomohiro Nishiyama, Yoshihiko Hasegawa

In finite-dimensional quantum systems, temperature cannot be uniquely defined. This, in turn, implies that there are several ways to define entropy production in finite-dimensional quantum systems, because the classical entropy production depends on temperature. We propose a unified definition of entropy production based on the difference in quantum relative entropy with respect to reference states characterized by effective temperatures. We demonstrate that the proposed definition naturally decomposes into a Clausius-type entropy production and an additional contribution arising from the time dependence of the effective temperature. Furthermore, we show that requiring the entropy production rate to take the conventional form as the sum of the entropy change and the heat flow constrains the effective temperature to be either constant or equal to a specific energy-matching effective temperature. For general initial states, entropy production can become negative, in which case we derive lower bounds on entropy production and establish sufficient conditions for its non-negativity using the trace distance.

Zhiqiang Huang

Entropy production and the detailed fluctuation theorem are of fundamental importance for thermodynamic processes. In this paper we study the multiple entropy production for multitime quantum processes in a unified framework. For closed quantum systems and Markovian open quantum systems, the given entropy productions all satisfy the detailed fluctuation relation. This also shows that the entropy production rate under these processes is non-negative. For non-Markovian open quantum systems, the memory effect can lead to a negative-entropy production rate. Thus, in general, the entropy production of the marginal distribution does not satisfy the detailed fluctuation theorem relation. Our framework can be applied to a wide range of physical systems and dynamics. It provides a systematic tool for studying entropy production and its rate under arbitrary quantum processes.

F. Schlögl

Herbert E. Spohn

In analogy to the phenomenological theory of irreversible thermodynamics we define the entropy production for an arbitrary quantum dynamical semigroup with a stationary state. We prove that the entropy production is convex and positive and that the entropy production is a measure of dissipativity of the semigroup. The entropy production is used to prove the approach to equilibrium and to classify the stationary states of semigroups arising in the weak coupling limit.

Gonzalo Manzano Paule