arXiv subjects

Ken Funo

Publications and source records attributed to Ken Funo.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

Nonequilibrium heat transport and work with a single artificial atom coupled to a waveguide: emission without external driving

We observe the continuous emission of photons into a waveguide from a superconducting qubit without the application of an external drive. To explain this observation, we build a two-bath model where the qubit couples simultaneously to a cold bath (the waveguide) and a hot bath (a secondary environment). Our results show that the thermal-photon occupation of the hot bath is up to 0.14 photons, 35 times larger than the cold waveguide, leading to nonequilibrium heat transport with a power of up to 132 zW, as estimated from the qubit emission spectrum. By adding more isolation between the sample output and the first cold amplifier in the output line, the heat transport is strongly suppressed. Our interpretation is that the hot bath may arise from active two-level systems being excited by noise from the output line. We also apply a coherent drive, and use the waveguide to measure thermodynamic work and heat, suggesting waveguide spectroscopy is a useful means to study quantum heat engines and refrigerators. Finally, based on the theoretical model, we propose how a similar setup can be used as a noise spectrometer which provides a new solution for calibrating the background noise of hybrid quantum systems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

Superconducting-like heat current: Effective cancellation of current-dissipation trade off by quantum coherence

Producing a large current typically requires large dissipation, as is the case in electric conduction, where Joule heating is proportional to the square of the current. Stochastic thermodynamics offers a framework to study nonequilibrium thermodynamics of small fluctuating systems, and quite recently, microscopic derivations and universal understanding of the trade-off relation between the current and dissipation have been put forward. Here we establish a universal framework clarifying how quantum coherence affects the trade-off between the current and dissipation: a proper use of coherence enhances the heat current without increasing dissipation, i.e. coherence can reduce friction. If the amount of coherence is large enough, this friction becomes virtually zero, realizing a superconducting-like ``dissipation-less'' heat current. Since our framework clarifies a general relation among coherence, energy flow, and dissipation, it can be applied to many branches of science. As an application to energy science, we construct a quantum heat engine cycle that exceeds the power-efficiency bound on classical engines, and effectively attains the Carnot efficiency with finite power in fast cycles. We discuss important implications of our findings with regard to the field of quantum information theory, condensed matter physics and biology.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

Shortcuts to Adiabatic Pumping in Classical Stochastic Systems

Adiabatic pumping is characterized by a geometric contribution to the pumped charge, which can be non-zero even in the absence of a bias. However, as the driving speed is increased, non-adiabatic excitations gradually reduce the pumped charge, thereby limiting the maximal applicable driving frequencies. To circumvent this problem, we here extend the concept of shortcuts to adiabaticity to construct a control protocol which enables geometric pumping well beyond the adiabatic regime. Our protocol allows for an increase, by more than an order of magnitude, in the driving frequencies, and the method is also robust against moderate fluctuations of the control field. We provide a geometric interpretation of the control protocol and analyze the thermodynamic cost of implementing it. Our findings can be realized using current technology and potentially enable fast pumping of charge or heat in quantum dots, as well as in other stochastic systems from physics, chemistry, and biology.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Speeding-up a quantum refrigerator via counter-diabatic driving

We study the application of a counter-diabatic driving (CD) technique to enhance the thermodynamic efficiency and power of a quantum Otto refrigerator based on a superconducting qubit coupled to two resonant circuits. Although the CD technique is originally designed to counteract non-adiabatic coherent excitations in isolated systems, we find that it also works effectively in the open system dynamics, improving the coherence-induced losses of efficiency and power. We compare the CD dynamics with its classical counterpart, and find a deviation that arises because the CD is designed to follow the energy eigenbasis of the original Hamiltonian, but the heat baths thermalize the system in a different basis. We also discuss possible experimental realizations of our model.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Speed limit for open quantum systems

We study the quantum speed limit for open quantum systems described by the Lindblad master equation. The obtained inequality shows a trade-off relation between the operation time and the physical quantities such as the energy fluctuation and the entropy production. We further identify a quantity characterizing the speed of the state transformation, which appears only when we consider the open system dynamics in the quantum regime. When the thermal relaxation is dominant compared to the unitary dynamics of the system, we show that this quantity is approximated by the energy fluctuation of the counter-diabatic Hamiltonian which is used as a control field in the shortcuts to adiabaticity protocol. We discuss the physical meaning of the obtained quantum speed limit and try to give better intuition about the speed in open quantum systems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Quantum Fluctuation Theorems

Recent advances in experimental techniques allow one to measure and control systems at the level of single molecules and atoms. Here gaining information about fluctuating thermodynamic quantities is crucial for understanding nonequilibrium thermodynamic behavior of small systems. To achieve this aim, stochastic thermodynamics offers a theoretical framework, and nonequilibrium equalities such as Jarzynski equality and fluctuation theorems provide key information about the fluctuating thermodynamic quantities. We review the recent progress in quantum fluctuation theorems, including the studies of Maxwell's demon which plays a crucial role in connecting thermodynamics with information.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2018

Path integral approach to quantum thermodynamics

Work belongs to the most basic notions in thermodynamics but it is not well understood in quantum systems, especially in open quantum systems. By introducing a novel concept of work functional along individual Feynman path, we invent a new approach to study thermodynamics in the quantum regime. Using the work functional, we derive a path-integral expression for the work statistics. By performing the $\hbar$ expansion, we analytically prove the quantum-classical correspondence of the work statistics. In addition, we obtain the quantum correction to the classical fluctuating work. We can also apply this approach to an open quantum system in the strong coupling regime described by the quantum Brownian motion model. This approach provides an effective way to calculate the work in open quantum systems by utilizing various path integral techniques. As an example, we calculate the work statistics for a dragged harmonic oscillator in both isolated and open quantum systems.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2018

Path integral approach to heat in quantum thermodynamics

We study the heat statistics of a quantum Brownian motion described by the Caldeira-Leggett model. By using the path integral approach, we introduce a novel concept of the quantum heat functional along every pair of Feynman paths. This approach has an advantage of improving our understanding about heat in quantum systems. First, we demonstrate the microscopic reversibility of the system by connecting the heat functional to the forward and its time-reversed probabilities. Second, we analytically prove the quantum-classical correspondence of the heat functional and their statistics, which allows us to obtain better intuitions about the difference between classical and quantum heat.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2018

Speed Limit for Classical Stochastic Processes

Speed limit for classical stochastic Markov processes with discrete states is studied. We find that a trade-off inequality exists between the speed of the state transformation and the entropy production. The dynamical activity determines the time scale and plays a crucial role in the inequality. For systems with stationary current, a similar trade-off inequality with the Hatano-Sasa entropy production gives a much better bound on the speed of the state transformation. Our inequalities contain only physically well-defined quantities, and thus the physical picture of these inequalities is clear.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2017

Universal Work Fluctuations during Shortcuts To Adiabaticity by Counterdiabatic Driving

Counterdiabatic driving (CD) exploits auxiliary control fields to tailor the nonequilibrium dynamics of a quantum system, making possible the suppression of dissipated work in finite-time thermodynamics and the engineering of optimal thermal machines with no friction. We show that while the mean work done by the auxiliary controls vanishes, CD leads to a broadening of the work distribution. We derive a fundamental inequality that relates nonequilibrium work fluctuations to the operation time and quantifies the thermodynamic cost of CD in both critical and noncritical systems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

Work fluctuation and total entropy production in nonequilibrium processes

Work fluctuation and total entropy production play crucial roles in small thermodynamic systems subject to large thermal fluctuations. We investigate a trade-off relation between them in a nonequilibrium situation in which a system starts from an arbitrary nonequilibrium state. We apply the variational method to study this problem and find a stationary solution against variations over protocols that describe the time dependence of the Hamiltonian of the system. Using the stationary solution, we find the minimum of the total entropy production for a given amount of work fluctuation. An explicit protocol that achieves this is constructed from an adiabatic process followed by a quasi-static process. The obtained results suggest how one can control the nonequilibrium dynamics of the system while suppressing its work fluctuation and total entropy production.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2015

Work fluctuation-dissipation trade-off in heat engines

Reducing work fluctuation and dissipation in heat engines or, more generally, information heat engines that perform feedback control is vital to maximize their efficiency. The same problem arises when we attempt to maximize the efficiency of a given thermodynamic task that undergoes nonequilibrium processes for arbitrary initial and final states. We find that the most general trade-off relation between work fluctuation and dissipation applicable to arbitrary nonequilibrium processes is bounded from below by the information distance characterizing how far the system is from thermal equilibrium. The minimum amount of dissipation is found to be given in terms of the relative entropy and the Renyi divergence, both of which quantify the information distance between the state of the system and the canonical distribution. We give an explicit protocol that achieves the fundamental lower bound of the trade-off relation.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2015

Quantum nonequilibrium equalities with absolute irreversibility

We derive quantum nonequilibrium equalities in absolutely irreversible processes. Here by absolute irreversibility we mean that in the backward process the density matrix does not return to the subspace spanned by those eigenvectors that have nonzero weight in the initial density matrix. Since the initial state of a memory and the postmeasurement state of the system are usually restricted to a subspace, absolute irreversibility occurs during the measurement and feedback processes. An additional entropy produced in absolute irreversible processes needs to be taken into account to derive nonequilibrium equalities. We discuss a model of a feedback control on a qubit system to illustrate the obtained equalities. By introducing $N$ heat baths each composed of a qubit and letting them interact with the system, we show how the entropy reduction via feedback control can be converted into work. An explicit form of extractable work in the presence of absolute irreversibility is given.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2014

General achievable bound of extractable work under feedback control

A general achievable upper bound of extractable work under feedback control is given, where nonequilibrium equalities are generalized so as to be applicable to error-free measurements. The upper bound involves a term which arises from the part of the process whose information becomes unavailable and is related to the weight of the singular part of the reference probability measure. The obtained upper bound of extractable work is more stringent than the hitherto known one and sets a general achievable bound for a given feedback protocol. Guiding principles of designing the optimal protocol are also outlined. Examples are presented to illustrate our general results.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2014

Nonequilibrium Equalities in Absolutely Irreversible Processes

We generalize nonequilibrium integral equalities to situations involving absolutely irreversible processes for which the forward-path probability vanishes and the entropy production diverges, rendering conventional integral fluctuation theorems inapplicable. We identify the mathematical origins of absolute irreversibility as the singularity of probability measure. We demonstrate the validity of the obtained equalities for several models.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2014

Strong Local Passivity in Finite Quantum Systems

Passive states of quantum systems are states from which no system energy can be extracted by any cyclic (unitary) process. Gibbs states of all temperatures are passive. Strong local (SL) passive states are defined to allow any general quantum operation, but the operation is required to be local, being applied only to a specific subsystem. Any mixture of eigenstates in a system-dependent neighborhood of a nondegenerate, entangled ground state is found to be SL passive. In particular, Gibbs states are SL passive with respect to a subsystem only at or below a critical, system-dependent temperature. SL passivity is associated in many-body systems with the presence of ground state entanglement in a way suggestive of collective quantum phenomena such as quantum phase transitions, superconductivity, and the quantum Hall effect. The presence of SL passivity is detailed for some simple spin systems where it is found that SL passivity is neither confined to systems of just a few particles nor limited to the near vicinity of the ground state.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Black Hole Firewalls Require Huge Energy of Measurement

The unitary moving mirror model is one of the best quantum systems for checking the reasoning of the original firewall paradox of AMPS in quantum black holes. Though the late-time part of radiations emitted from the mirror is fully entangled with the early-part, no firewall exists with a deadly, huge average energy flux in this model. This is because high-energy entanglement structure of the discretized systems in almost maximally entangled states is modified so as to yield the correct description of low-energy effective field theory. Furthermore, the strong subadditivity paradox of firewalls is resolved using non-locality of general one-particle states and zero-point fluctuation entanglement. Due to the Reeh-Schlieder theorem in quantum field theory, another firewall paradox is inevitably raised with quantum remote measurements in the model. We resolve this paradox from the viewpoint of the energy cost of measurements. No firewall appears, as long as the energy for the measurement is much smaller than the ultraviolet cutoff scale.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Thermodynamic Work Gain from Entanglement

We show that entanglement can be utilized to extract thermodynamic work beyond classical correlation via feedback control based on measurement on part of a composite system. The net work gain due to entanglement is determined by the change in the mutual information content between the subsystems that is accessible by the memory.

quant-ph↗