arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Haye Hinrichsen.
The synchronization properties of two self-sustained quantum oscillators are studied in the Wigner representation. Instead of considering the quantum limit of the quantum van-der-Pol master equation we derive the quantum master equation directly from a suitable Hamiltonian. Moreover, the oscillators are coupled in incorporating an additional phase factor which shows up in the mutual correlations.
We study a two-level system controlled in a discrete feedback loop, modeling both the system and the controller in terms of stochastic Markov processes. We find that the extracted work, which is known to be bounded from above by the mutual information acquired during measurement, has to be compensated by an additional energy supply during the measurement process itself, which is bounded by the same mutual information from below. Our results confirm that the total cost of operating an information engine is in full agreement with the conventional second law of thermodynamics. We also consider the efficiency of the information engine as function of the cycle time and discuss the operating condition for maximal power generation. Moreover, we find that the entropy production of our information engine is maximal for maximal efficiency, in sharp contrast to conventional reversible heat engines.
The framework of generalized probabilistic theories is a powerful tool for studying the foundations of quantum physics. It provides the basis for a variety of recent findings that significantly improve our understanding of the rich physical structure of quantum theory. This review paper tries to present the framework and recent results to a broader readership in an accessible manner. To achieve this, we follow a constructive approach. Starting from few basic physically motivated assumptions we show how a given set of observations can be manifested in an operational theory. Furthermore, we characterize consistency conditions limiting the range of possible extensions. In this framework classical and quantum theory appear as special cases, and the aim is to understand what distinguishes quantum mechanics as the fundamental theory realized in nature. It turns out non-classical features of single systems can equivalently result from higher dimensional classical theories that have been restricted. Entanglement and non-locality, however, are shown to be genuine non-classical features.
We propose an alternative method to compute the entropy production of a classical underdamped nonequilibrium system in a continuous phase space. This approach has the advantage that it is not necessary to distinguish between even and odd-parity variables. We show that the method leads to the same local entropy production as in previous studies while the differential entropy production along a stochastic trajectory turns out to be different. This demonstrates that the differential entropy production in continuous phase space systems is not uniquely defined.
We study a non-conserved one-dimensional stochastic process which involves two species of particles $A$ and $B$. The particles diffuse asymmetrically and react in pairs as $A\emptyset\leftrightarrow AA\leftrightarrow BA \leftrightarrow A\emptyset$ and $B\emptyset \leftrightarrow BB \leftrightarrow AB \leftrightarrow B\emptyset$. We show that the stationary state of the model can be calculated exactly by using matrix product techniques. The model exhibits a phase transition at a particular point in the phase diagram which can be related to a condensation transition in a particular zero-range process. We determine the corresponding critical exponents and provide a heuristic explanation for the unusually strong corrections to scaling seen in the vicinity of the critical point.
We introduce a finite-time detailed fluctuation theorem for the environmental entropy of the form $\tilde P(ΔS_{env}) = e^{ΔS_{env}} \tilde P(-ΔS_{env})$ for an appropriately weighted probability density of the external entropy production in the environment. The fluctuation theorem is valid for nonequilibrium systems with constant rates starting with an arbitrary initial probability distribution. We discuss the implication of this new relation for the case of a temperature quench in classical equilibrium systems. The fluctuation theorem is tested numerically for a Markov jump process with six states and for a surface growth model.
A two-dimensional easy-plane ferromagnetic substrate, interacting with a dipolar tip which is magnetised perpendicular with respect to the easy plane is studied numerically by solving the Landau-Lifshitz Gilbert equation. Due to the symmetry of the dipolar field of the tip, in addition to the collinear structure a magnetic vortex structure becomes stable. It is robust against excitations caused by the motion of the tip. We show that for high excitations the system may perform a transition between the two states. The influence of domain walls, which may also induce this transition, is examined.
In statistical physics entropy is usually introduced as a global quantity which expresses the amount of information that would be needed to specify the microscopic configuration of a system. However, for lattice models with infinitely many possible configurations per lattice site it is also meaningful to introduce entropy as a local observable that describes the information content of a single lattice site. Likewise, the mutual information can be interpreted as a two-point correlation function. Studying a particular growth model we demonstrate that the mutual information exhibits scaling properties that are consistent with the established phenomenological scaling picture.
In nature stationary nonequilibrium systems cannot exist on their own, rather they need to be driven from outside in order to keep them away from equilibrium. While the internal mean entropy of such stationary systems is constant, the external drive will on average increase the entropy in the environment. This external entropy production is usually quantified by a simple formula, stating that each microscopic transition of the system between two configurations $c \to c'$ with rate $w_{c\to c'}$ changes the entropy in the environment by $ΔS_{\rm env} = {\ln w_{c \to c'}}-{\ln w_{c' \to c}}$. According to this formula irreversible transitions $c \to c'$ with a vanishing backward rate $w_{c'\to c}=0$ would produce an infinite amount of entropy. However, in experiments designed to mimic such processes, a divergent entropy production, that would cause an infinite increase of heat in the environment, is not seen. The reason is that in an experimental realization the backward process can be suppressed but its rate always remains slightly positive, resulting in a finite entropy production. The paper discusses how this entropy production can be estimated and specifies a lower bound depending on the observation time.
The quantum entanglement $E$ of a bipartite quantum Ising chain is compared with the mutual information $I$ between the two parts after a local measurement of the classical spin configuration. As the model is conformally invariant, the entanglement measured in its ground state at the critical point is known to obey a certain scaling form. Surprisingly, the mutual information of classical spin configurations is found to obey the same scaling form, although with a different prefactor. Moreover, we find that mutual information and the entanglement obey the inequality $I\leq E$ in the ground state as well as in a dynamically evolving situation. This inequality holds for general bipartite systems in a pure state and can be proven using similar techniques as for Holevo's bound.
We study a two-dimensional kinetic Ising model with Swendsen-Wang dynamics, replacing the usual percolation on top of Ising clusters by explosive percolation. The model exhibits a reversible first-order phase transition with hysteresis. Surprisingly, at the transition flanks the global bond density seems to be equal to the percolation thresholds.
Fixed-energy sandpiles with stochastic update rules are known to exhibit a nonequilibrium phase transition from an active phase into infinitely many absorbing states. Examples include the conserved Manna model, the conserved lattice gas, and the conserved threshold transfer process. It is believed that the transitions in these models belong to an autonomous universality class of nonequilibrium phase transitions, the so-called Manna class. Contrarily, the present numerical study of selected (1+1)-dimensional models in this class suggests that their critical behavior converges to directed percolation after very long time, questioning the existence of an independent Manna class.
The human sense of hearing perceives a combination of sounds 'in tune' if the corresponding harmonic spectra are correlated, meaning that the neuronal excitation pattern in the inner ear exhibits some kind of order. Based on this observation it is suggested that musical instruments such as pianos can be tuned by minimizing the Shannon entropy of suitably preprocessed Fourier spectra. This method reproduces not only the correct stretch curve but also similar pitch fluctuations as in the case of high-quality aural tuning.
We study the entropy production of a microscopic model for nonequilibrium wetting. We show that, in contrast to the equilibrium case, a bound interface in a nonequilibrium steady state produces entropy. Interestingly, in some regions of the phase diagram a bound interface produces more entropy than a free interface. Moreover, by solving exactly a four-site system, we find that the first derivative of the entropy production with respect to the control parameter displays a discontinuity at the critical point of the wetting transition.
We investigate a new symmetry of the large deviation function of certain time-integrated currents in non-equilibrium systems. The symmetry is similar to the well-known Gallavotti-Cohen-Evans-Morriss-symmetry for the entropy production, but it concerns a different functional of the stochatic trajectory. The symmetry can be found in a restricted class of Markov jump processes, where the network of microscopic transitions has a particular structure and the transition rates satisfy certain constraints. We provide three physical examples, where time-integrated observables display such a symmetry. Moreover, we argue that the origin of the symmetry can be traced back to time-reversal if stochastic trajectories are grouped appropriately.
We propose a renormalization scheme that can be used as a reliable method to identify universality classes of absorbing phase transitions. Following the spirit of Wilson's block-spin renormalization group, the lattice is divided into blocks, assigning to them an effective state by a suitable Boolean function of the interior degrees of freedom. The effective states of adjacent blocks form certain patterns which are shown to occur with universal probability ratios if the underlying process is critical. Measuring these probability ratios in the limit of large block sizes one obtains a set of universal numbers as an individual fingerprint for each universality class.
This paper addresses fundamental aspects of statistical mechanics such as the motivation of a classical state space with spontaneous transitions, the meaning of non-equilibrium in the context of thermalization, and the justification of these concepts from the quantum-mechanical point of view. After an introductory part we focus on the problem of entropy production in non-equilibrium systems. In particular, the generally accepted formula for entropy production in the environment is analyzed from a critical perspective. It is shown that this formula is only valid in the limit of separated time scales of the system's and the environmental degrees of freedom. Finally, we present an alternative simple proof of the fluctuation theorem.
In a recent study [arXiv:1011.3254] the contact process with a modified creation rate at a single site was shown to exhibit a non-universal scaling behavior with exponents varying with the creation rate at the special site. In the present work we argue that the survival probability decays according to a stretched exponential rather than a power law, explaining previous observations.