Nonequilibrium Quantum Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics *

Status of the Fundamental Laws of Thermodynamics

We describe recent progress towards deriving the Fundamental Laws of thermodynamics (the 0, 1, and 2 Law) from nonequilibrium quantum statistical mechanics in simple, yet physically relevant models. Along the way, we clarify some basic thermodynamic notions and discuss various reversible and irreversible thermodynamic processes from the point of view of quantum statistical mechanics.

Steepest entropy ascent model for far-nonequilibrium thermodynamics: unified implementation of the maximum entropy production principle.

By suitable reformulations, we cast the mathematical frameworks of several well-known different approaches to the description of nonequilibrium dynamics into a unified formulation valid in all these contexts, which extends to such frameworks the concept of steepest entropy ascent (SEA) dynamics introduced by the present author in previous works on quantum thermodynamics. Actually, the present f...

Nonequilibrium quantum thermodynamics in Coulomb crystals

Non-dissipative effects in nonequilibrium systems

We consider aspects of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics that have traditionally not been considered in irreversible thermodynamics. More specifically we refer to the frenetic contribution in fluctuation and response theory, which complements the entropic component. Frenesy then refers to an amount of volatility or of dynamical activity defined on trajectories in some reduced description. It...

Schrödinger link between nonequilibrium thermodynamics and Fisher information.

It is known that equilibrium thermodynamics can be deduced from a constrained Fisher information extemizing process. We show here that, more generally, both nonequilibrium and equilibrium thermodynamics can be obtained from such a Fisher treatment. Equilibrium thermodynamics corresponds to the ground-state solution, and nonequilibrium thermodynamics corresponds to excited-state solutions, of a ...