Exchange fluctuation theorems for strongly interacting quantum pumps

TL;DR

This paper derives a quantum exchange fluctuation theorem for strongly interacting multipartite systems, highlighting the role of quantum correlations and measurement back-action in heat exchange and entropy production.

Contribution

It introduces a general quantum fluctuation theorem that accounts for measurement back-action and quantum correlations, providing a tighter second law of thermodynamics.

Findings

The derived bound involves quantum mutual information of the conditional thermal state.

Quantum correlations influence heat exchange between subsystems.

The second law inequality is tighter than the classical Clausius inequality.

Abstract

We derive a general quantum exchange fluctuation theorem for multipartite systems with arbitrary coupling strengths by taking into account the informational contribution of the back-action of the quantum measurements, which contributes to the increase in the von-Neumann entropy of the quantum system. The resulting second law of thermodynamics is tighter than the conventional Clausius inequality. The derived bound is the quantum mutual information of the conditional thermal state, which is a thermal state conditioned on the initial energy measurement. These results elucidate the role of quantum correlations in the heat exchange between multiple subsystems.