Energy exchange statistics and fluctuation theorem for nonthermal asymptotic states
At a Glance
Section titled āAt a Glanceā| Metadata | Details |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 2025-01-21 |
| Journal | Physical review. E |
| Authors | Santiago HernĆ”ndez-GĆ³mez, Francesco Poggiali, Paola Cappellaro, F. S. Cataliotti, Andrea Trombettoni |
| Institutions | University of Trieste, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Trieste |
| Citations | 1 |
Abstract
Section titled āAbstractāEnergy exchange statistics between two bodies at different thermal equilibria obey the Jarzynski-WĆ³jcik fluctuation theorem. The corresponding energy scale factor is the difference of the inverse temperatures associated to the bodies at equilibrium. In this work, we consider a dissipative quantum dynamics leading the quantum system towards a possibly nonthermal, asymptotic state. To generalize the Jarzynski-WĆ³jcik theorem to nonthermal states, we identify a sufficient condition I for the existence of an energy scale factor Ī·^{} that is unique, finite, and time independent, such that the characteristic function of the energy exchange distribution becomes identically equal to 1 for any time. This Ī·^{} plays the role of the difference of inverse temperatures. We discuss the physical interpretation of the condition I, showing that it amounts to an almost complete memory loss of the initial state. The robustness of our results against quantifiable deviations from the validity of I is evaluated by experimental studies on a single nitrogen-vacancy center subjected to a sequence of laser pulses and dissipation.