We introduce a model of the quantum Brownian motion coupled to a classical neat bath by using the operator differential proposed in the quantum analysis. We then define the heat operator by adapting the idea of the stochastic energetics. The introduced operator satisfies the relations which are analogous to the first and second laws of thermodynamics.
We exploit mappings between quantum and classical systems in order to obtain a class of two-dimensional classical systems with critical properties equivalent to those of the class of one-dimensional quantum systems discussed in a companion paper (J. Hutchinson, J. P. Keating, and F. Mezzadri, arXiv:1503.05732). In particular, we use three approaches: the Trotter-Suzuki mapping; the method of coherent states; and a calculation based on commuting the quantum Hamiltonian with the transfer matrix of a classical system. This enables us to establish universality of certain critical phenomena by extension from the results in our previous article for the classical systems identified.
A stochastic dynamics has a natural decomposition into a drift capturing mean rate of change and a martingale increment capturing randomness. They are two statistically uncorrelated, but not necessarily independent mechanisms contributing to the overall fluctuations of the dynamics, representing the uncertainties in the past and in the future. A generalized Einstein relation is a consequence solely because the dynamics being stationary; and the Green-Kubo formula reflects a balance between the two mechanisms. Equilibrium with reversibility is characterized by a novel covariance symmetry.
Stochastic entropy production, which quantifies the difference between the probabilities of trajectories of a stochastic dynamics and its time reversals, has a central role in nonequilibrium thermodynamics. In the theory of probability, the change in the statistical properties of observables can be represented by a change in the probability measure. We consider operators on the space of probability measure that induce changes in the statistical properties of a process, and formulate entropy productions in terms of these change-of-probability-measure (CPM) operators. This mathematical underpinning of the origin of entropy productions allows us to achieve an organization of various forms of fluctuation relations: All entropy productions have a non-negative mean value, admit the integral fluctuation theorem, and satisfy a rather general fluctuation relation. Other results such as the transient fluctuation theorem and detailed fluctuation theorems then are derived from the general fluctuation relation with more constraints on the operator. We use a discrete-time, discrete-state-space Markov process to draw the contradistinction among three reversals of a process: time reversal, protocol reversal and the dual process. The properties of their corresponding CPM operators are examined, and the domains of validity of various fluctuation relations for entropy productions in physics and chemistry are revealed. We also show that our CPM operator formalism can help us rather easily extend other fluctuations relations for excess work and heat, discuss the martingale properties of entropy productions, and derive the stochastic integral formulas for entropy productions in constant-noise diffusion process with Girsanov theorem. Our formalism provides a general and concise way to study the properties of entropy-related quantities in stochastic thermodynamics and information theory.
We introduce a new technique to bound the fluctuations exhibited by a physical system, based on the Euclidean geometry of the space of observables. Through a simple unifying argument, we derive a sweeping generalization of so-called Thermodynamic Uncertainty Relations (TURs). We not only strengthen the bounds but extend their realm of applicability and in many cases prove their optimality, without resorting to large deviation theory or information-theoretic techniques. In particular, we find the best TUR based on entropy production alone and also derive a novel bound for stationary Markov processes, which surpasses previous known bounds. Our results derive from the non-invariance of the system under a symmetry which can be other than time reversal and thus open a wide new spectrum of applications.
Fluctuation theorems are fundamental results in non-equilibrium thermodynamics. Considering the fluctuation theorem with respect to the entropy production and an observable, we derive a new thermodynamic uncertainty relation which also applies to non-cyclic and time-reversal non-symmetric protocols.