Numerical analysis of second law of thermodynamics and irreversibility in exemplary quantum systems

TL;DR

This paper investigates the second law of thermodynamics and irreversibility in quantum systems by analyzing entropy behavior in particle models, emphasizing the role of quantum entanglement and system-reservoir interactions.

Contribution

It provides a detailed numerical analysis of entropy dynamics in quantum models, highlighting how entanglement and interaction details influence irreversibility.

Findings

Entropy increases over time in some models

Entropy behaves non-monotonically in others

Quantum entanglement significantly impacts entropy growth

Abstract

We test Boltzmann's H-theorem for several models of particle random walk. We study the influence of interaction between the particle and reservoir/detectors on entropy and find entropy increasing in time for some models and behaving non-monotonically for others. The key mechanism affecting the entropy growth is the quantum entanglement between the system and the reservoir. We discuss the details of the system-reservoir interaction, such as presence of the interference in the system and number of interactions with detector parts, and their impact on the monotonicity of entropy.