Lídia del Rio: Quantum thermodynamics (I)

Опубликовано 1 февраля 2017, 0:09

How much heat is dissipated in a quantum computer? Just how small can thermal engines be? When can we model a device’s environment as a heat bath? As technology miniaturizes, we find that traditional thermodynamics is inadequate to study heat and work at the nanoscale, due for example to finite-size effects, emergence of quantum effects, subjectivity of information, and relevance of single-shot results. To tackle these challenges, a new theory of quantum thermodynamics is emerging, drawing insights from quantum information theory. In this tutorial, we will see how tools developed to study entanglement and quantum communication can be applied to thermodynamics. First, we will explore the relationship between information and thermodynamics, from Maxwell’s demon to the work cost of quantum computations. I will then motivate and lay out the resource-theoretic approach to thermodynamics, which allows us to derive the thermodynamic laws from first principles. Finally, I will give a brief overview of the state of the art and promising directions in the field. The tutorial will be accessible to any quantum mechanic with a background in CS, mathematics, or physics.
[1] J. Goold, M. Huber, A. Riera, LdR & P. Skrzypczyk, The role of quantum information in thermodynamics – a topical review, arXiv:1505.07835