arXiv subjects

Jordan M. Horowitz

Publications and source records attributed to Jordan M. Horowitz.

46 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2014

Quantum effects improve the energy efficiency of feedback control

The laws of thermodynamics apply equally well to quantum systems as to classical systems, and because of this quantum effects do not change the fundamental thermodynamic efficiency of isothermal refrigerators or engines. We show that, despite this fact, quantum mechanics permits measurement-based feedback control protocols that are more thermodynamically efficient than their classical counterparts. As part of our analysis we perform a detailed accounting of the thermodynamics of unitary feedback control, and elucidate the sources of inefficiency in measurement-based and coherent feedback.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Equivalent definitions of the quantum nonadiabatic entropy production

The nonadiabatic entropy production is a useful tool for the thermodynamic analysis of continuously dissipating, nonequilibrium steady states. For open quantum systems, two seemingly distinct definitions for the nonadiabatic entropy production have appeared in the literature, one based on the quantum relative entropy and the other based on quantum trajectories. We show that these two formulations are equivalent. Furthermore, this equivalence leads us to a proof of the monotonicity of the quantum relative entropy under a special class of completely-positive, trace-preserving quantum maps, which circumvents difficulties associated with the noncommuntative structure of operators.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Entropy production along nonequilibrium quantum jump trajectories

For classical nonequilibrium systems, the separation of the total entropy production into the adiabatic and nonadiabatic contributions is useful for understanding irreversibility in nonequilibrium thermodynamics. In this article, we formulate quantum analogs for driven open quantum systems describable by quantum jump trajectories by applying a quantum stochastic thermodynamics. Our main conclusions are based on a quantum formulation of the local detailed balance condition.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2013

Imitating Chemical Motors with Optimal Information Motors

To induce transport, detailed balance must be broken. A common mechanism is to bias the dynamics with a thermodynamic fuel, such as chemical energy. An intriguing, alternative strategy is for a Maxwell demon to effect the bias using feedback. We demonstrate that these two different mechanisms lead to distinct thermodynamics by contrasting a chemical motor and information motor with identical dynamics. To clarify this difference, we study both models within one unified framework, highlighting the role of the interaction between the demon and the motor. This analysis elucidates the manner in which information is incorporated into a physical system.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2013

Optimizing non-ergodic feedback engines

Maxwell's demon is a special case of a feedback controlled system, where information gathered by measurement is utilized by driving a system along a thermodynamic process that depends on the measurement outcome. The demon illustrates that with feedback one can design an engine that performs work by extracting energy from a single thermal bath. Besides the fundamental questions posed by the demon - the probabilistic nature of the Second Law, the relationship between entropy and information, etc. - there are other practical problems related to feedback engines. One of those is the design of optimal engines, protocols that extract the maximum amount of energy given some amount of information. A refinement of the second law to feedback systems establishes a bound to the extracted energy, a bound that is met by optimal feedback engines. It is also known that optimal engines are characterized by time reversibility. As a consequence, the optimal protocol given a measurement is the one that, run in reverse, prepares the system in the post-measurement state (preparation prescription). In this paper we review these results and analyze some specific features of the preparation prescription when applied to non-ergodic systems.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2012

Quantum Trajectory Approach to the Stochastic Thermodynamics of a Forced Harmonic Oscillator

I formulate a quantum stochastic thermodynamics for the quantum trajectories of a continuously-monitored forced harmonic oscillator coupled to a thermal reservoir. Consistent trajectory-dependent definitions are introduced for work, heat, and entropy, through engineering the thermal reservoir from a sequence of two-level systems. Within this formalism the connection between irreversibility and entropy production is analyzed and confirmed by proving a detailed fluctuation theorem for quantum trajectories. Finally, possible experimental verifications are discussed.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2011

Designing optimal discrete-feedback thermodynamic engines

Feedback can be utilized to convert information into useful work, making it an effective tool for increasing the performance of thermodynamic engines. Using feedback reversibility as a guiding principle, we devise a method for designing optimal feedback protocols for thermodynamic engines that extract all the information gained during feedback as work. Our method is based on the observation that in a feedback-reversible process the measurement and the time-reversal of the ensuing protocol both prepare the system in the same probabilistic state. We illustrate the utility of our method with two examples of the multi-particle Szilard engine.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2011

Thermodynamic Reversibility in Feedback Processes

The sum of the average work dissipated plus the information gained during a thermodynamic process with discrete feedback must exceed zero. We demonstrate that the minimum value of zero is attained only by feedback-reversible processes that are indistinguishable from their time-reversal, thereby extending the notion of thermodynamic reversibility to feedback processes. In addition, we prove that in every realization of a feedback-reversible process the sum of the work dissipated and change in uncertainty is zero.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2010

Nonequilibrium Detailed Fluctuation Theorem for Repeated Discrete Feedback

We extend the framework of forward and reverse processes commonly utilized in the derivation and analysis of the nonequilibrium work relations to thermodynamic processes with repeated discrete feedback. Within this framework, we derive a generalization of the detailed fluctuation theorem, which is modified by the addition of a term that quantifies the change in uncertainty about the microscopic state of the system upon making measurements of physical observables during feedback. As an application, we extend two nonequilibrium work relations: the nonequilibrium work fluctuation theorem and the relative-entropy work relation.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2009

Exact formula for currents in strongly pumped diffusive systems

We analyze a generic model of mesoscopic machines driven by the nonadiabatic variation of external parameters. We derive a formula for the probability current; as a consequence we obtain a no-pumping theorem for cyclic processes satisfying detailed balance and demonstrate that the rectification of current requires broken spatial symmetry.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗