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Radiation reaction (but, more generally, fluctuations and dissipation) occurs when a system interacts with a heat bath, a particular case being the interaction of an electron with the radiation field. We have developed a general theory for the case of a quantum particle in a general potential (but, in more detail, an oscillator potential) coupled to an arbitrary heat bath at arbitrary temperature, and in an external time-dependent c-number field. The results may be applied to a large variety of problems in physics but we concentrate by showing in detail the application to the blackbody radiation heat bath, giving an exact result for the radiation reaction problem which has no unsatisfactory features such as the runaway solutions associated with the Abraham–Lorentz theory. In addition, we show how atomic energy and free energy shifts due to temperature may be calculated. Finally, we give a brief review of applications to Josephson junctions, quantum statistical mechanics, mesoscopic physics, quantum information, noise in gravitational wave detectors, Unruh radiation and the violation of the quantum regression theorem.     

A Possible Generalized Form of Jarzynski Equality

The crucial condition in the derivation of the Jarzynski equality (JE) from the fluctuation theorem is that the time integral of the phase space contraction factor can be exactly expressed as the entropy production resulting from the heat absorbed by the system from the thermal bath. For the system violating this condition, a more general form of JE may exist. This existence is verified by three Gedanken experiments and numerical simulations, and may be confirmed by the real experiment in the nanoscale.     

A Possible Generalized Form of Jarzynski Equality

The crucial condition in the derivation of the Jarzynski equality （JE） from the fluctuation theorem is that the time integral of the phase space contraction factor can be exactly expressed as the entropy production resulting from the heat absorbed by the system from the thermal bath. For the system violating this condition, a more general form of JE may exist. This existence is verified by three Gedanken experiments and numerical simulations, and may be confirmed by the real experiment in the nanoscale.     

Fluctuation relations for heat exchange in the generalized Gibbs ensemble

In this work, we investigate the heat exchange between two quantum systems whose initial equilibrium states are described by the generalized Gibbs ensemble. First, we generalize the fluctuation relations for heat exchange discovered by Jarzynski and Wójcik to quantum systems prepared in the equilibrium states described by the generalized Gibbs ensemble at various generalized temperatures. Secondly, we extend the connections between heat exchange and the Rényi divergences to quantum systems under generic initial conditions. These relations are applicable for quantum systems with conserved quantities and universally valid for quantum systems in the integrable and chaotic regimes.     

Adiabatic Theorems and Reversible Isothermal Processes

Isothermal processes of a finitely extended, driven quantum system in contact with an infinite heat bath are studied from the point of view of quantum statistical mechanics. Notions like heat flux, work and entropy are defined for trajectories of states close to, but distinct from states of joint thermal equilibrium. A theorem characterizing reversible isothermal processes as quasi-static processes (“isothermal theorem”) is described. Corollaries concerning the changes of entropy and free energy in reversible isothermal processes and on the 0th law of thermodynamics are outlined.*Supported by the Swiss National Foundation.     

A fluctuation theorem for Floquet quantum master equations

We present a fluctuation theorem for Floquet quantum master equations. This is a detailed version of the famous Gallavotti–Cohen theorem. In contrast to the latter theorem, which involves the probability distribution of the total heat current, the former involves the joint probability distribution of positive and negative heat currents and can be used to derive the latter. A quantum two-level system driven by a periodic external field is used to verify this result.     

Linear response theory for systems obeying the master equation

Linear response theory is developed for systems whose time dependence is described by a master equation. The fluctuation dissipation theorem expressing the linear response of the system in terms of fluctuation properties of the system in equilibrium is derived. The time-dependent Ising spin system in interaction with a heat bath, the Glauber model, is discussed as a particular case of the formalism.The work of one of the authors (D.B.) was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Contract GP 10536.On leave of absence from the Institute of Physics, Belgrade, Yugoslavia.     

Thermodynamical approach to quantifying quantum correlations

We consider the amount of work which can be extracted from a heat bath using a bipartite state rho shared by two parties. In general it is less then the amount of work extractable when one party is in possession of the entire state. We derive bounds for this "work deficit" and calculate it explicitly for a number of different cases. In particuar, for pure states the work deficit is exactly equal to the distillable entanglement of the state. A form of complementarity exists between physical work which can be extracted and distillable entanglement. The work deficit is a good measure of the quantum correlations in a state and provides a new paradigm for understanding quantum nonlocality.     

New developments in the Nonequilibrium Dynamics of spin glasses

We present an overview of recent developments in the nonequilibrium dynamics of spin glasses. The prevailing theoretical pictures are described and discussed in light of numerical results and experimental observations. We focus on aging phenomena like waiting-time-dependent length scales, scaling of two-time quantities, more complex temperature protocols during aging, and the violation of the fluctuation–dissipation theorem. Finally, aging in quantum spin glass models coupled to a dissipative bath is discussed.     

Quantum fidelity for Gaussian states describing the evolution of open systems

Using the expression of the fidelity for the most general Gaussian quantum states, the quantum fidelity is studied for the states of a harmonic oscillator interacting with an environment, in particular with a thermal bath. The time evolution of the considered system is described in the framework of the theory of open systems based on quantum dynamical semigroups. By taking a correlated squeezed Gaussian state as initial state, we calculate the quantum fidelity for both undisplaced and displaced states. The time evolution of the quantum fidelity is analyzed depending on the squeezing and correlation parameters characterizing the initial Gaussian state and on the dissipation constant and temperature of the thermal bath.     

Non-equilibrium effects upon the non-Markovian Caldeira–Leggett quantum master equation

We obtain a non-Markovian quantum master equation directly from the quantization of a non-Markovian Fokker–Planck equation describing the Brownian motion of a particle immersed in a generic environment (e.g. a non-thermal fluid). As far as the especial case of a heat bath comprising of quantum harmonic oscillators is concerned, we derive a non-Markovian Caldeira–Leggett master equation on the basis of which we work out the concept of non-equilibrium quantum thermal force exerted by the harmonic heat bath upon the Brownian motion of a free particle. The classical limit (or dequantization process) of this sort of non-equilibrium quantum effect is scrutinized, as well.     

Stochastic resonance and heat fluctuations in a driven double-well system

We study a periodically driven (symmetric as well as asymmetric) double-well potential system at finite temperature. We show that mean heat loss by the system to the environment (bath) per period of the applied field is a good quantifier of stochastic resonance. It is found that the heat fluctuations over a single period are always larger than the work fluctuations. The observed distributions of work and heat exhibit pronounced asymmetry near resonance. The heat loss over a large number of periods satisfies the conventional steady-state fluctuation theorem.     

Generalized entropy production fluctuation theorems for quantum systems

Based on trajectory-dependent path probability formalism in state space, we derive generalized entropy production fluctuation relations for a quantum system in the presence of measurement and feedback. We have obtained these results for three different cases: (i) the system is evolving in isolation from its surroundings; (ii) the system being weakly coupled to a heat bath; and (iii) system in contact with reservoir using quantum Crooks fluctuation theorem. In Case (iii), we build on the treatment carried out by H T Quan and H Dong [arXiv/cond-mat:0812.4955], where a quantum trajectory has been defined as a sequence of alternating work and heat steps. The obtained entropy production fluctuation theorems (FTs) retain the same form as in the classical case. The inequality of second law of thermodynamics gets modified in the presence of information. These FTs are robust against intermediate measurements of any observable performed with respect to von Neumann projective measurements as well as weak or positive operator-valued measurements.     

量子点腔系统中抽运诱导受激辐射与非谐振腔量子电动力学特性的研究

从量子点和腔相互作用的哈密顿量出发,利用包括非相干抽运,退相干项主方程,并结合量子回归定理,考虑相关初始条件,理论推导和数值计算相结合得出量子点多光子发射光谱精确数值结果.分析多光子发射光谱(费米子统计)和相应单光子情况(玻色子统计)时,得到依据费米子统计,退相干和热浴模型的多光子发射光谱同最近文献[22]量子点——微柱腔实验结果符合得非常好.结合理论和当前实验,显示了量子点腔系统中抽运诱导受激辐射和非谐振腔量子电动力学. 关键词： 量子点 微腔 受激辐射 发射光谱     

Adiabatic dynamics in open quantum critical many-body systems

The purpose of this work is to understand the effect of an external environment on the adiabatic dynamics of a quantum critical system. By means of scaling arguments we derive a general expression for the density of excitations produced in the quench as a function of its velocity and of the temperature of the bath. We corroborate the scaling analysis by explicitly solving the case of a one-dimensional quantum Ising model coupled to an Ohmic bath.     

Finite time thermodynamic analysis of quantum Otto heat engine with squeezed thermal bath

We investigate the finite time performance of reciprocating quantum Otto heat engine coupled to squeezed hot reservoir. We emphasize the converged limit cycle where each stroke is performed in finite time. To fully exploit the quantum availability provided by the squeezed bath, an optimal frequency protocol in the work extraction stroke is explicitly proposed. The power output is optimized with respect to the hot and cold isochore times. Thermodynamic analysis shows that for a wide range of squeezing parameters, efficiency at maximum power exceeds the generalized Curzon–Ahlborn efficiency defined by the effective temperature of the squeezed bath.     

Interpretation of the Quantum Measurement: Example of a Linearly Coupled Harmonic Oscillator

We argue that it may be possible to consistently explain the quantum measurement by assuming that the wave function is in one-to-one correspondence with objective physical reality and has no probabilistic interpretation. In the context of such approach we consider the model of a harmonic oscillator linearly coupled to a heat bath and treat the oscillator as the system being measured. Three classes of initial pure states for the bath are considered. Exact expressions for the average values and variances of the oscillator coordinate and momentum as functions of time are considered for each class of pure states. It is shown that these quantities exhibit different asymptotic behavior for different classes of initial states of the bath. In particular, if each mode of the bath is initially in a coherent state, then for an arbitrary initial state of the oscillator the variances of the oscillator coordinate and momentum asymptotically approach the same values as for a coherent state of the free oscillator, while the averages of coordinate and momentum show a Brownian-like behavior. We argue that such behavior shows several features of the quantum measurement and supports our interpretation of the wave function.     

Nonequilibrium steady state in open quantum systems: Influence action,stochastic equation and power balance

The existence and uniqueness of a steady state for nonequilibrium systems (NESS) is a fundamental subject and a main theme of research in statistical mechanics for decades. For Gaussian systems, such as a chain of classical harmonic oscillators connected at each end to a heat bath, and for classical anharmonic oscillators under specified conditions, definitive answers exist in the form of proven theorems. Answering this question for quantum many-body systems poses a challenge for the present. In this work we address this issue by deriving the stochastic equations for the reduced system with self-consistent backaction from the two baths, calculating the energy flow from one bath to the chain to the other bath, and exhibiting a power balance relation in the total (chain + baths) system which testifies to the existence of a NESS in this system at late times. Its insensitivity to the initial conditions of the chain corroborates to its uniqueness. The functional method we adopt here entails the use of the influence functional, the coarse-grained and stochastic effective actions, from which one can derive the stochastic equations and calculate the average values of physical variables in open quantum systems. This involves both taking the expectation values of quantum operators of the system and the distributional averages of stochastic variables stemming from the coarse-grained environment. This method though formal in appearance is compact and complete. It can also easily accommodate perturbative techniques and diagrammatic methods from field theory. Taken all together it provides a solid platform for carrying out systematic investigations into the nonequilibrium dynamics of open quantum systems and quantum thermodynamics.     

A thought construction of working perpetuum mobile of the second kind

The previously published model of the isothermal Maxwell demon as one of models of open quantum systems endowed with the faculty of selforganization is reconstructed here. It describes an open quantum system interacting with a single thermodynamic bath but otherwise not aided from outside. Its activity is given by the standard linear Liouville equation for the system and bath. Owing to its selforganization property, the model then yields cyclic conversion of heat from the bath into mechanical work without compensation. Hence, it provides an explicit thought construction of perpetuum mobile of the second kind, contradicting thus the Thomson formulation of the second law of thermodynamics. No approximation is involved as a special scaling procedure is used which makes the employed kinetic equations exact.