Autonomization of Quantum Systems and the Emergence of the Work Operator

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2607.20602v1
• Date: Wed, 22 Jul 2026 18:00:00 GMT
• Title: Autonomization of Quantum Systems and the Emergence of the Work Operator
• Abstract summary: Estimation of work at the quantum scale remains a central challenge in quantum thermodynamics.<n>We show that the quantum work operator evades a no-go theorem by deriving a quantum fluctuation theorem.<n>We extend the framework to open quantum systems and obtain an operatorial first law in which work, heat, and internal-energy changes are represented by distinct operators.
• Score: 0.0
• License: http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/
• Abstract: Estimation of work at the quantum scale remains a central challenge in quantum thermodynamics. Canonical approaches have a fundamental drawback: they assume classical control of the quantum system, as implicit in a time-dependent Hamiltonian. Yet the energetic cost of implementing this control is omitted and can exceed the system's energy scale by orders of magnitude, calling into question the operational significance of work values. We address this by autonomizing the controlled energy transfer, embedding the driven dynamics into an energy-conserving evolution on a larger quantum system. Work is then unambiguously identified with the energy transferred between the two systems, singling out a unique observable on the driven system: the work operator. We show that the quantum work operator evades a no-go theorem by deriving a quantum fluctuation theorem that recovers the Jarzynski equality in classical scenarios. We incorporate imperfect control and quantify corrections to work statistics. Extending the framework to open quantum systems, we obtain an operatorial first law in which work, heat, and internal-energy changes are represented by distinct operators on the reduced system. Together, these results settle the long-standing debate over whether work is a quantum observable: it is, once the controlling system is included in the description rather than treated as external.

Related papers

• Work Statistics and Quantum Trajectories: No-Click Limit and non-Hermitian Hamiltonians [50.24983453990065]
  We present a framework for quantum work statistics in continuously monitored quantum systems.<n>Our approach naturally incorporates non-Hermitian dynamics arising from quantum jump processes.<n>We illustrate our theoretical framework by analyzing a one-dimensional transverse-field Ising model under local spin monitoring.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2025-04-15T23:21:58Z)
• Revising the quantum work fluctuation framework to encompass energy conservation [0.0]
  We introduce a quantum correction to the Jarzynski equality stemming from imposing energy conservation.<n>When sufficiently large, this correction forces quantum work to violate the second law more often.<n>We construct modified two-point measurement schemes for work along with circuit implementations for them.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2024-06-26T18:00:00Z)
• Effect of the readout efficiency of quantum measurement on the system entanglement [44.99833362998488]
  We quantify the entanglement for a particle on a 1d quantum random walk under inefficient monitoring. We find that the system's maximal mean entanglement at the measurement-induced quantum-to-classical crossover is in different ways by the measurement strength and inefficiency.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2024-02-29T18:10:05Z)
• Evolution of expected values in open quantum systems [41.94295877935867]
  We show that in some cases the power performed by the system can be considered as a quantum observable.<n>As an application, the pure dephasing process is reinterpreted from this perspective.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2024-02-29T06:47:28Z)
• Quantum switch as a thermodynamic resource in the context of passive states [0.0]
  We study whether quantum switch is capable of activating a passive state. We show that quantum switch is not a thermodynamic resource in the discussed context.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2024-02-16T14:47:41Z)
• Universality of critical dynamics with finite entanglement [68.8204255655161]
  We study how low-energy dynamics of quantum systems near criticality are modified by finite entanglement. Our result establishes the precise role played by entanglement in time-dependent critical phenomena.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2023-01-23T19:23:54Z)
• Fluctuation theorems for genuine quantum mechanical regimes [0.0]
  We look for corrections to work fluctuations theorems when the acting system is allowed to enter the quantum domain. For some specific processes, we derive several fluctuation theorems within both the quantum and classical statistical arenas.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2022-11-29T13:14:30Z)
• Demonstrating Quantum Microscopic Reversibility Using Coherent States of Light [58.8645797643406]
  We propose and experimentally test a quantum generalization of the microscopic reversibility when a quantum system interacts with a heat bath. We verify that the quantum modification for the principle of microscopic reversibility is critical in the low-temperature limit.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2022-05-26T00:25:29Z)
• From geometry to coherent dissipative dynamics in quantum mechanics [68.8204255655161]
  We work out the case of finite-level systems, for which it is shown by means of the corresponding contact master equation. We describe quantum decays in a 2-level system as coherent and continuous processes.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2021-07-29T18:27:38Z)
• Quantum Simulation of Open Quantum Systems Using a Unitary Decomposition of Operators [0.0]
  We show that any quantum operator can be exactly decomposed as a linear combination of at most four unitary operators. The results are in agreement with classical calculations, showing promise in non-unitary operations on intermediate-term and future quantum devices.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2021-06-23T18:00:02Z)
• Information Scrambling in Computationally Complex Quantum Circuits [56.22772134614514]
  We experimentally investigate the dynamics of quantum scrambling on a 53-qubit quantum processor. We show that while operator spreading is captured by an efficient classical model, operator entanglement requires exponentially scaled computational resources to simulate.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2021-01-21T22:18:49Z)
• Quantum Non-equilibrium Many-Body Spin-Photon Systems [91.3755431537592]
  dissertation concerns the quantum dynamics of strongly-correlated quantum systems in out-of-equilibrium states. Our main results can be summarized in three parts: Signature of Critical Dynamics, Driven Dicke Model as a Test-bed of Ultra-Strong Coupling, and Beyond the Kibble-Zurek Mechanism.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2020-07-23T19:05:56Z)
• Work as an external quantum observable and an operational quantum work fluctuation theorem [0.0]
  We argue that quantum work fluctuation theorems which rely on the knowledge of $H_mathcalS$ are of little practical relevance, contrary to their classical counterparts. We derive a fluctuation theorem which is operationally accessible and could in principle be implemented in experiments to determine bounds on free energy differences of unknown systems.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2020-03-13T18:33:41Z)

This list is automatically generated from the titles and abstracts of the papers in this site.

This site does not guarantee the quality of this site (including all information) and is not responsible for any consequences.