A quantum theory of thermodynamic relaxation

TL;DR

This paper develops a quantum Markov process framework and derives a Fokker-Planck equation, providing a new phase-space approach to quantum thermodynamics that extends classical results and offers a novel treatment of mechanical systems.

Contribution

It introduces a new quantum Markov process approach and derives a Fokker-Planck equation applicable to phase-space descriptions, extending classical thermodynamics to quantum systems.

Findings

Derived a Fokker-Planck equation for quantum Markov processes

Reproduced known classical and quantum results using the new framework

Proposed a new phase-space method for quantum mechanical systems

Abstract

A new approach to quantum Markov processes is developed and the corresponding Fokker-Planck equation is derived. The latter is examined to reproduce known results from classical and quantum physics. It was also applied to the phase-space description of a mechanical system thus leading to a new treatment of this problem different from the Wigner presentation. The equilibrium probability density obtained in the mixed coordinate-momentum space is a reasonable extension of the Gibbs canonical distribution.