By-passing fluctuation theorems

Paul Boes; Rodrigo Gallego; Nelly H. Y. Ng; Jens Eisert; Henrik Wilming

doi:10.22331/q-2020-02-20-231

By-passing fluctuation theorems

Paul Boes¹, Rodrigo Gallego¹, Nelly H. Y. Ng¹, Jens Eisert¹, and Henrik Wilming²

¹Dahlem Center for Complex Quantum Systems, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
²Institute for Theoretical Physics, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland

Published:	2020-02-20, volume 4, page 231
Eprint:	arXiv:1904.01314v4
Doi:	https://doi.org/10.22331/q-2020-02-20-231
Citation:	Quantum 4, 231 (2020).

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Abstract

Fluctuation theorems impose constraints on possible work extraction probabilities in thermodynamical processes. These constraints are stronger than the usual second law, which is concerned only with average values. Here, we show that such constraints, expressed in the form of the Jarzysnki equality, can be by-passed if one allows for the use of catalysts---additional degrees of freedom that may become correlated with the system from which work is extracted, but whose reduced state remains unchanged so that they can be re-used. This violation can be achieved both for small systems but also for macroscopic many-body systems, and leads to positive work extraction per particle with finite probability from macroscopic states in equilibrium. In addition to studying such violations for a single system, we also discuss the scenario in which many parties use the same catalyst to induce local transitions. We show that there exist catalytic processes that lead to highly correlated work distributions, expected to have implications for stochastic and quantum thermodynamics.

► BibTeX data

@article{Boes2020passingfluctuation,
  doi = {10.22331/q-2020-02-20-231},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.22331/q-2020-02-20-231},
  title = {By-passing fluctuation theorems},
  author = {Boes, Paul and Gallego, Rodrigo and Ng, Nelly H. Y. and Eisert, Jens and Wilming, Henrik},
  journal = {{Quantum}},
  issn = {2521-327X},
  publisher = {{Verein zur F{\"{o}}rderung des Open Access Publizierens in den Quantenwissenschaften}},
  volume = {4},
  pages = {231},
  month = feb,
  year = {2020}
}

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