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arXiv · 1004.2232

Thermal equilibration between two quantum systems

Alexey V. Ponomarev·Sergey Denisov·Peter Hänggi
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Abstract

Two identical finite quantum systems prepared initially at different temperatures, isolated from the environment, and subsequently brought into contact are demonstrated to relax towards Gibbs-like quasi-equilibrium states with a common temperature and small fluctuations around the time-averaged expectation values of generic observables. The temporal thermalization process proceeds via a chain of intermediate Gibbs-like states. We specify the conditions under which this scenario occurs and corroborate the quantum equilibration with two different models.

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Alexey V. Ponomarev, Sergey Denisov, Peter Hänggi. 2011-01-05. Thermal equilibration between two quantum systems. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.106.010405

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