Non-equilibrium thermodynamics approach to open quantum systems

Abstract

Open quantum systems are studied from the thermodynamical point of view unifying the principle of maximum informational entropy and the hypothesis of relaxation times hierarchy. The result of the unification is a non-Markovian and local in time master equation that provides a direct connection of dynamical and thermodynamical properties of open quantum systems. The power of the approach is illustrated with the application to the damped harmonic oscillator and the damped driven two-level system resulting in analytical expressions for the non-Markovian and non-equilibrium entropy and inverse temperature.