Semiclassical approach to the work distribution

TL;DR

This paper develops a semiclassical method to approximate work distribution in quantum chaotic systems, bridging quantum and classical descriptions, and demonstrates its accuracy through numerical simulations.

Contribution

It introduces a semiclassical expression for work distribution in chaotic systems, connecting quantum results with classical limits.

Findings

Semiclassical distribution converges to classical distribution in the classical limit.

Numerical results show good agreement between semiclassical and quantum distributions.

The approach applies to finite-time processes in quantum chaotic systems.

Abstract

Work in closed quantum systems is usually defined by a two-point measurement. This definition of work is compatible with quantum fluctuation theorems but it fundamentally differs from its classical counterpart. In this paper, we study the correspondence principle in quantum chaotic systems. We derive a semiclassical expression of the work distribution for chaotic systems undergoing a general, finite time, process. This semiclassical distribution converges to the classical distribution in the usual classical limit. We show numerically that, for a particle inside a chaotic cavity, the semiclassical distribution provides a good approximation to quantum distribution.