Experimental verification of quantum heat exchange fluctuation relation

Abstract

We experimentally verify the Jarzynski and W\"ojcik quantum heat exchange fluctuation relation by implementing the interferometric technique in liquid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance setup and study the exchange heat statistics between two weakly coupled spin-1/2 quantum systems. In presence of uncorrelated initial state with individual spins prepared in local Gibbs thermal states at different temperatures, the exchange fluctuation symmetry is verified for arbitrary transient time. In contrast, when the initial preparation includes correlation, the fluctuation symmetry breaks down and further leads to an apparent spontaneous flow of heat from cold to hot. Our experimental approach is general and can be systematically extended to study heat statistics for more complex out-of-equilibrium many-body quantum systems.