Description of quantum coherence in thermodynamic processes requires constraints beyond free energy

Matteo Lostaglio (), David Jennings and Terry Rudolph
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Matteo Lostaglio: Imperial College London
David Jennings: Imperial College London
Terry Rudolph: Imperial College London

Nature Communications, 2015, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Recent studies have developed fundamental limitations on nanoscale thermodynamics, in terms of a set of independent free energy relations. Here we show that free energy relations cannot properly describe quantum coherence in thermodynamic processes. By casting time-asymmetry as a quantifiable, fundamental resource of a quantum state, we arrive at an additional, independent set of thermodynamic constraints that naturally extend the existing ones. These asymmetry relations reveal that the traditional Szilárd engine argument does not extend automatically to quantum coherences, but instead only relational coherences in a multipartite scenario can contribute to thermodynamic work. We find that coherence transformations are always irreversible. Our results also reveal additional structural parallels between thermodynamics and the theory of entanglement.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7383

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