Geometrical Bounds on Irreversibility in Open Quantum Systems

The Clausius inequality has deep implications for reversibility and the arrow of time. Quantum theory is able to extend this result for closed systems by inspecting the trajectory of the density matrix on its manifold. Here we show that this approach can provide an upper and lower bound to the irrev...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2018-10, Vol.121 (16), p.160602-160602, Article 160602
Main Authors: Mancino, Luca, Cavina, Vasco, De Pasquale, Antonella, Sbroscia, Marco, Booth, Robert I, Roccia, Emanuele, Gianani, Ilaria, Giovannetti, Vittorio, Barbieri, Marco
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Lower bounds
Photonics
Quantum theory
Thermalization (energy absorption)
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Summary:The Clausius inequality has deep implications for reversibility and the arrow of time. Quantum theory is able to extend this result for closed systems by inspecting the trajectory of the density matrix on its manifold. Here we show that this approach can provide an upper and lower bound to the irreversible entropy production for open quantum systems as well. These provide insights on how the information on the initial state is forgotten through a thermalization process. Limits of the applicability of our bounds are discussed and demonstrated in a quantum photonic simulator.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.160602