# Quantum work distributions associated with the dynamical Casimir effect

## TL;DR

This paper analyzes the quantum work distributions in a cavity with an oscillating boundary, demonstrating the validity of fluctuation theorems and the transition from quantum to classical behavior at different temperatures.

## Contribution

It provides analytical expressions for work distributions in a dynamical Casimir effect setup, extending fluctuation theorem validation to particle-creating processes.

## Key findings

- Work distributions obey fluctuation theorems in nonequilibrium conditions.
- High temperature limit yields classical work behavior.
- Low temperature limit shows significant quantum effects similar to Casimir phenomena.

## Abstract

We study the joint probability distribution function of the work and the change of photon number of the nonequilibrium process of driving the electromagnetic (EM) field in a three-dimensional cavity with an oscillating boundary. The system is initially prepared in a grand canonical equilibrium state and we obtain the analytical expressions of the characteristic functions of work distributions in the single-resonance and multiple-resonance conditions. Our study demonstrates the validity of the fluctuation theorems of the grand canonical ensemble in nonequilibrium processes with particle creation and annihilation. In addition, our work illustrates that in the high temperature limit, the work done on the quantized EM field approaches its classical counterpart; while in the low temperature limit, similar to Casimir effect, it differs significantly from its classical counterpart.