A decoherence interpretation of quantum work for adiabatic processes

TL;DR

This paper explores how decoherence in quantum systems during adiabatic processes can justify the common definition of quantum work without measurements, by analyzing the role of a preferred basis induced by the self-Hamiltonian.

Contribution

It demonstrates that decoherence occurs with respect to a preferred basis during adiabatic processes, providing a theoretical basis for defining quantum work without measurement.

Findings

Decoherence occurs in a preferred basis during adiabatic processes.

The preferred basis is given by the transient self-Hamiltonian.

This justifies the quantum work definition without measurement.

Abstract

In this paper, decoherence is studied for quantum systems undergoing adiabatic processes, which are coupled to huge quantum environments. It is shown that decoherence can happen with respect to a preferred basis given by transient self-Hamiltonian.This result can be used to justify a most-often-used definition of quantum work for a system undergoing an adiabatic process, without resorting to measurement.