- amikam.levy@biu.ac.il
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Quantum Thermodynamics
Quantum Thermodynamics
About This Research
For over a century, thermodynamics has been considered one of the pillars of physics. The theory deals with energetic and entropic processes in the macroscopic scale under a set of constraints. It was initially formed as a phenomenological theory in which the fundamental laws were developed without a microscopic theory in hand.
Quantum theory, on the other hand, is concerned with dynamics and properties of microscopic systems at the atomic length scale. The field of quantum thermodynamics aims to bridge the two fields. The fundamental questions in the field are: To what extent do the paradigms and the laws of thermodynamics apply in the quantum domain? What role do quantum effects, such as quantum correlations and coherences, play in energy and entropy flows in the quantum realm? In other words, can we use quantum phenomena as resources to drive thermodynamic processes? Our group develops various mathematical and physical frameworks to answer these questions and provide new theoretical predictions that can be tasted in the lab. The study of thermodynamics in the quantum regime branches into many other fields, including quantum foundations, quantum information, solid state physics, and atomic, molecular, and optical physics.
Quantum thermal machines
Quantum thermal machines, such as quantum heat engines, refrigerators and energy storage devices are a useful platform for exploring the relation between thermodynamics and quantum phenomena.
The work of Sadi Carnot form 1824 on the efficiency of heat engines or what is known today as the Carnot heat engine, paved the way to the formulations of the first and second law of thermodynamics. Studying these type of machines in the quantum realm sheds new light on basic thermodynamic principle in microscopic system, and the significance of quantum interference and correlations in transport processes.
Quantum fluctuation theorems
Fluctuation theorems (FTs) have the important role of generalizing basic concepts from thermodynamics to microscopic finite-size systems and are also relevant to systems driven strongly far from equilibrium.
Broadly speaking, FTs relate the probability distributions of the forward and reversed nonequilibrium processes of some fluctuating quantity. They are most evident in the microscopic realm where fluctuations carry more weight. Classically, these theorems are relevant to biomolecules, molecular motors, colloidal particles, etc. In the quantum regime, they are applicable to, and experimentally observed in, a wide variety of quantum devices such as trapped ions, superconducting qubits, quantum dots, and NMR setups.
However, the standard approach to deriving fluctuation theorems fails to capture important quantum effects such as quantum correlations and coherence in the initial state of the system. We seek to develop new approaches to account for these genuinely quantum phenomena, and reveal quantum-thermodynamic signatures – that is, thermodynamic measurable quantities which witness non-classicality.
Related Publications
- Quantum Thermodynamics
27 | Interferometry of quantum correlation functions to access quasiprobability distribution of work
S Hernández-Gómez, T Isogawa, A Belenchia, A Levy, N Fabbri, S Gherardini, P Cappellaro | npj Quantum Information 10 (1), 115 (2024)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41534-024-00913-x
26 | Quantum Engines and Refrigerators
Loris Maria Cangemi, Chitrak Bhadra, Amikam Levy | Physics Reports 1087, 1-71 (2024)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physrep.2024.07.001
25 | Projective measurements can probe non-classical work extraction and time-correlations
J antiago Hernández-Gómez, Stefano Gherardini, Alessio Belenchia, Matteo Lostaglio, Amikam Levy, Nicole Fabbri | Physical Review Research 6 (2), 023280 (2024)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.6.023280
24 | Periodically driven open quantum systems with vibronic interaction: Resonance effects and vibrationally mediated decoupling
J Bätge, Y Wang, A Levy, W Dou, M Thoss | Physical Review B 108 (19), 195412 (2023)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.108.195412
23 | Kirkwood-Dirac quasiprobability approach to quantum fluctuations: Theoretical and experimental perspectives
J Matteo Lostaglio, Alessio Belenchia, Amikam Levy, Santiago Hernández-Gómez, Nicole Fabbri, Stefano Gherardini | Quantum 7, 1128 (2023)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22331/q-2023-10-09-1128
22 | Nonadiabatically driven open quantum systems under out-of-equilibrium conditions: Effect of electron-phonon interaction
J Bätge, A Levy, W Dou, M Thoss | Physical Review B 106 (7), 075419 (2022)
DOI: ttps://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.106.075419
20 | Response theory for nonequilibrium steady-states of open quantum systems
A. Levy, E. Rabani, and D.T. Limmer | Physical Review Research 3 (2), 023252 (2021)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.3.023252
19 | Quasi-probability distribution for heat fluctuations in the quantum regime
A. Levy, Matteo Lostaglio | Physical Review X Quantum 1 010309 (2020)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PRXQuantum.1.010309
18 | Modelling Energy Transfer in Quantum Thermal Machines
A. Levy, W. Dou | Physics 13, 129 (2020)
DOI:
17 | Single-atom heat engine as a sensitive thermal probe
A. Levy, M. Gob, B. Deng, K. Singer, E. Torrontegui, D. Wang |
New Journal of Physics 22 (9) 093020 (2020)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/abad7f
16 | Universal approach to quantum thermodynamics of strongly coupled systems under nonequilibrium conditions and external driving
W. Dou, J. Batge, A. Levy, M. Thoss | Physical Review B 101 (18), 184304 (2020)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.101.184304
12 | Quantum Features and Signatures of Quantum Thermal Machines
A. Levy, D. Gelbwaser-Klimovsky | Thermodynamics in the Quantum Regime, Springer International Publishing, Cham, pp. 87-126 (2018)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99046-0_4
09 | Quantum flywheel
A. Levy, L. Diosi, R. Kosloff | Physical Review A 93 (5), 052119 (2016)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.93.052119
08 | Quantum heat machines equivalence, work extraction beyond markovianity, and strong coupling via heat exchangers
R. Uzdin, A. Levy, R. Kosloff | Entropy 18 (4), 124 (2016)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/e18040124
06 | Equivalence of quantum heat machines, and quantum-thermodynamic signatures
R. Uzdin, A. Levy, R. Kosloff | Physical Review X 5 (3), 031044(2015)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.5.031044
05 | The local approach to quantum transport may violate the second law of thermodynamics
A. Levy, R. Kosloff | EPL (Europhysics Letters) 107 (2), 20004 (2014)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075/107/20004
04 | Quantum Heat Engines and Refrigerators: Continuous Devices
R. Kosloff, A. Levy | Annual Review of Physical Chemistry 65, 365 (2014)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-physchem-040513-103724
03 | Comment on Cooling by Heating: Refrigeration Powered by Photons
A. Levy, R. Alicki, R. Kosloff | Physical Review Letters 108 (7), 70604 (2012)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.248901
02 | Quantum refrigerators and the third law of thermodynamics
A. Levy, R. Alicki, R. Kosloff | Physical Review E 85 (6), 061126 (2012)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.85.061126
01 | Quantum Absorption Refrigerator
A. Levy, R. Kosloff | Physical Review Letters 108 (7), 70604 (2012)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.070604