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Center for Nonlinear Studies |
Completely-positive, trace-preserving (CPTP) quantum maps capture a vast diversity of quantum dynamical evolutions, including arbitrary open-system dynamics, such as decoherence, measurement, and thermal relaxation. Consequently, the thermodynamic analysis of processes described by CPTP maps is a major issue in the development of quantum thermodynamics. One of the main tools for such thermodynamic analysis are fluctuation theorems, since they reveal statistical properties of thermodynamic quantities. In this talk, I will introduce and examine a general fluctuation theorem for a large class of CPTP maps based on a generalized detailed balance relation. This result provides a unifying framework that includes many previous quantum fluctuation theorems as special cases; as a consequence, it clarifies the minimal hypothesis needed to derive a fluctuation theorem for quantum maps. I will conclude with applications.
Host: Sebastian Deffner