Thermodynamics of Quantum Measurement

Entropy is one of the most basic concepts in thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. The most widely used definition of statistical mechanical entropy for a quantum system is introduced by von Neumann. While in classical systems, the statistical mechanical entropy is defined by Gibbs. The relation between these two definitions of entropy is still not fully explored. In this work, we study this problem by employing the phase-space formulation of quantum mechanics. For those ...

Based on quantum statistical mechanics and microscopic quantum dynamics, we prove Planck's and Kelvin's principles for macroscopic systems in a general and realistic setting. We consider a hybrid quantum system that consists of the thermodynamic system, which is initially in thermal equilibrium, and the "apparatus" which operates on the former, and assume that the whole system evolves autonomously. This provides a satisfactory derivation of the second law for macroscopic syst...

The first step in quantum information theory is the identification of entanglement as a valuable resource. The next step is learning how to exploit this resource efficiently. We learn how to exploit entanglement efficiently by applying analogues of thermodynamical concepts. These concepts include reversibility, entropy, and the distinction between intensive and extensive quantities. We discuss some of these analogues and show how they lead to a measure of entanglement for pur...

We compare the thermodynamic entropy of a quantum Brownian oscillator derived from the partition function of the subsystem with the von Neumann entropy of its reduced density matrix. At low temperatures we find deviations between these two entropies which are due to the fact that the Brownian particle and its environment are entangled. We give an explanation for these findings and point out that these deviations become important in cases where statements about the information...

This article sets up a new formalism to investigate stochastic thermodynamics in the quantum regime, where stochasticity and irreversibility primarily come from quantum measurement. In the absence of any bath, we define a purely quantum component to heat exchange, that corresponds to energy fluctuations caused by measurement back-action. Energetic and entropic signatures of measurement induced irreversibility are then investigated for canonical experiments of quantum optics, ...

Quantum mechanics has many counter-intuitive consequences which contradict our intuition which is based on classical physics. Here we discuss a special aspect of quantum mechanics, namely the possibility of entanglement between two or more particles. We will establish the basic properties of entanglement using quantum state teleportation. These principles will then allow us to formulate quantitative measures of entanglement. Finally we will show that the same general principl...

We show that both information erasure process and trace process can be realized by projective measurement. And a partial trace operation consists to a projective measurement on a subsystem. We show that a nonunitary operation will destroy the wave-behavior of a particle. We give a quantum manifestation of Maxwell's demon and give a quantum manifestation of the second law of therodynamics. We show that, considering the law of memontum-energy conversation, the evolution of a cl...

In order to understand the Landau-Lifshitz conjecture on the relationship between quantum measurements and the thermodynamic second law, we discuss the notion of ``diabatic'' and ``adiabatic'' forces exerted by the quantum object on the classical measurement apparatus. The notion of heat and work in measurements is made manifest in this approach, and the relationship between information entropy and thermodynamic entropy is explored.

Modern quantum theory derives from two disparate processes: the Born probability postulate and Schr\"odinger's equation that were later formalized by von Neumann. Von Neumann's Process 1 postulate provides a probabilistic non-unitary reduction to be applied when a quantum system interacts with a measurement device and otherwise Schr\"odinger's equation is specified via Postulate 2. Schr\"odinger showed in 1935 that the use of his equation to describe interactions leads to mac...

Entanglement is central both to the foundations of quantum theory and, as a novel resource, to quantum information science. The theory of entanglement establishes basic laws, such as the non-increase of entanglement under local operations, that govern its manipulation and aims to draw from them formal analogies to the second law of thermodynamics. However, while in the second law the entropy uniquely determines whether a state is adiabatically accessible from another, the man...