The third law of thermodynamics in open quantum systems
- Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States); Univ. of Toronto, ON (Canada)
- Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States); Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States)
- Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States)
In this work, we consider open quantum systems consisting of a finite system of independent fermions with arbitrary Hamiltonian coupled to one or more equilibrium fermion reservoirs (which need not be in equilibrium with each other). A strong form of the third law of thermodynamics, S(T) → 0 as T → 0, is proven for fully open quantum systems in thermal equilibrium with their environment, defined as systems where all states are broadened due to environmental coupling. For generic open quantum systems, it is shown that S(T) → g ln 2 as T → 0, where g is the number of localized states lying exactly at the chemical potential of the reservoir. For driven open quantum systems in a nonequilibrium steady state, it is shown that the local entropy S(x;T)→0 as T(x) → 0, except for cases of measure zero arising due to localized states, where T(x) is the temperature measured by a local thermometer.
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0006699
- OSTI ID:
- 1610889
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1557022
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 151, Issue 6; ISSN 0021-9606
- Publisher:
- American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
Special topic on dynamics of open quantum systems
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journal | January 2020 |
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