Stochastic thermodynamics in the quantum regime

Abstract

This article sets up a formalism to describe stochastic thermodynamics for driven out-of-equilibrium open quantum systems. A stochastic Schr\"odinger equation allows to construct quantum trajectories describing the dynamics of the system state vector in presence of an eventually monitored environment. Thermodynamic quantities are defined at the single quantum trajectory level, independently of any energy measurement, at any time of the protocol. We thereby identify coherent contributions, without classical counterparts, leading to quantum fluctuations of thermodynamic quantities. This formalism eventually leads to central fluctuation theorems for entropy, extending in the quantum regime results obtained in classical stochastic thermodynamics. The thermal imprint of coherences on a simple implementation of Jarzynski equality is investigated, opening avenues for a thermodynamic approach to decoherence.