Incoming Fellow, affiliation:
07/2021-06/2023: Theoretical Quantum Optics Group, University of Siegen
The impact of limited control on quantum thermodynamics.
Dr. Benjamin Yadin
The synthesis of thermodynamics with quantum mechanics has been an ongoing project for several decades. The field of quantum information has developed in parallel, providing powerful techniques for studying the structure of quantum states and thus also for the role of quantum features in thermodynamics. This project focuses on a quantum information theory approach to thermodynamics, with the goal of exploring how quantum effects can be put to use when one’s available control operations are limited. This is important for understanding at a fundamental level how quantum thermodynamical effects scale with increasing system sizes. In practical terms, this approach will also be crucial for adapting and extending the theory in order to have maximal relevance to current and feasible future experiments.
There are two main aspects to the project. The first concerns a mixing effect in which quantum interference alters the thermodynamical properties of indistinguishable particles. This presents a model for testing ideas about macroscopic quantum thermal effects and to determine how they may be observed experimentally. The second strand aims to derive general laws obeyed by systems interacting with thermal environments and controlled by various classes of operations that are commonly implemented in some of the most promising platforms for testing quantum thermodynamics, including optics and cold atoms.