Axiomatic relation between thermodynamic and information-theoretic entropies

We present a precise formulation of a correspondence between information and thermodynamics that was first observed by Szilard, and later studied by Landauer. The correspondence identifies available free energy with relative entropy, and provides a dictionary between information and thermodynamics. We precisely state and prove this correspondence. The paper should be broadly accessible since we assume no prior knowledge of information theory, developing it axiomatically, and ...

From a new rigorous formulation of the general axiomatic foundations of thermodynamics we derive an operational definition of entropy that responds to the emergent need in many technological frameworks to understand and deploy thermodynamic entropy well beyond the traditional realm of equilibrium states of macroscopic systems. The new definition is achieved by avoiding to resort to the traditional concepts of "heat" (which restricts $a$ $priori$ the traditional definitions of...

This is a review on entropy in various fields of mathematics and science. Its scope is to convey a unified vision of the classical as well as some newer entropy notions to a broad audience with an intermediate background in dynamical systems and ergodic theory. Due to the breadth and depth of the subject, we have opted for a compact exposition whose contents are a compromise between conceptual import and instrumental relevance. The intended technical level and the space limit...

The second law of classical thermodynamics, based on the positivity of the entropy production, only holds for deterministic processes. Therefore the Second Law in stochastic quantum thermodynamics may not hold. By making a fundamental connection between thermodynamics and information theory we will introduce a new way of defining the Second Law which holds for both deterministic classical and stochastic quantum thermodynamics. Our work incorporates information well into the S...

Thermodynamics and information have intricate inter-relations. The justification of the fact that information is physical, is done by inter-linking information and thermodynamics - through Landauer's principle. This modern approach towards information recently has improved our understanding of thermodynamics, both in classical and quantum domains. Here we show thermodynamics as a consequence of information conservation. Our approach can be applied to most general situations, ...

Entropy is the distinguishing and most important concept of our efforts to understand and regularize our observations of a very large class of natural phenomena, and yet, it is one of the most contentious concepts of physics. In this article, we review two expositions of thermodynamics, one without reference to quantum theory, and the other quantum mechanical without probabilities of statistical mechanics. In the first, we show that entropy is an inherent property of any syst...

We show that the principle of entropy increase may be exactly founded on a few axioms valid not only for quantum and classical statistics, but also for a wide range of statistical processes.

Thermodynamics and information have intricate interrelations. Often thermodynamics is considered to be the logical premise to justify that information is physical - through Landauer's principle -, thereby also linking information and thermodynamics. This approach towards information has been instrumental to understand thermodynamics of logical and physical processes, both in the classical and quantum domain. In the present work, we formulate thermodynamics as an exclusive con...

We develop the argument that the Gibbs-von Neumann entropy is the appropriate statistical mechanical generalisation of the thermodynamic entropy, for macroscopic and microscopic systems, whether in thermal equilibrium or not, as a consequence of Hamiltonian dynamics. The mathematical treatment utilises well known results [Gib02, Tol38, Weh78, Par89], but most importantly, incorporates a variety of arguments on the phenomenological properties of thermal states [Szi25, TQ63, HK...

Conventional wisdom holds that the von Neumann entropy corresponds to thermodynamic entropy, but Hemmo and Shenker (2006) have recently argued against this view by attacking von Neumann (1955) and his argument. I argue that Hemmo and Shenker's arguments fail due to several misunderstandings: about statistical-mechanical and thermodynamic domains of applicability, about the nature of mixed states, and about the role of approximations in physics. As a result, their arguments fa...