Thermodynamic Bounds on Dissipation in Open Quantum Systems

LTL Quantum Physics Seminar (Nanotalo). Speaker: Mr. Paul Menczel (Aalto University, Finland).

With today's rapid experimental advances in quantum engineering, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the interaction of quantum systems with their environment and its thermodynamic implications. For an open quantum system under weak coupling conditions, we derive a universal lower bound on the total dissipation in the system and the environment. This bound is given in terms of the heat or particle transport in and out of the system. It is valid under arbitrary external driving and at all times. The relation is an extension to the quantum realm of bounds that were previously derived for classical Markov processes. Our findings are relevant for current experimental efforts to realize low-temperature calorimetry with superconducting qubits.