Thermodynamic Framework for Coherently Driven Systems

Physical Review Letters, vol. 135, pp. 220201

Abstract

The laws of thermodynamics are a cornerstone of physics. At the nanoscale, where fluctuations and quantum effects matter, there is no unique thermodynamic framework because thermodynamic quantities such as heat and work depend on the accessibility of the degrees of freedom. We derive a thermodynamic framework for coherently driven systems, where the output light is assumed to be accessible. The resulting second law of thermodynamics is strictly tighter than the conventional one, and it demands the output light to be more noisy than the input light. We illustrate our framework across several well-established models, and we show how the three-level maser can be understood as an engine that reduces the noise of a coherent drive. Our framework opens a new avenue for investigating the noise properties of driven-dissipative quantum systems.

Authors 4

1. Max Schrauwen Aachen Department of Physics

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University

   Department of Physics, RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany

2. Aaron Daniel

   University of Basel · Swiss Nanoscience Institute

   Affiliation as printed

   University of Basel

   Department of Physics and Swiss Nanoscience Institute, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 82, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland

3. Marcelo Janovitch

   University of Basel · Swiss Nanoscience Institute

   Affiliation as printed

   University of Basel

   Department of Physics and Swiss Nanoscience Institute, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 82, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland

4. Patrick P. Potts

   University of Basel · Swiss Nanoscience Institute

   Affiliation as printed

   University of Basel

   Department of Physics and Swiss Nanoscience Institute, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 82, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland