Generalized Clausius Inequality for Nonequilibrium Quantum Processes

Sebastian Deffner and Eric Lutz
Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 170402 – Published 19 October 2010

Abstract

We show that the nonequilibrium entropy production for a driven quantum system is larger than the Bures length, the geometric distance between its actual state and the corresponding equilibrium state. This universal lower bound generalizes the Clausius inequality to arbitrary nonequilibrium processes beyond linear response. We further derive a fundamental upper bound for the quantum entropy production rate and discuss its connection to the Bremermann-Bekenstein bound.

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  • Received 1 June 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.170402

© 2010 The American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Sebastian Deffner and Eric Lutz

  • Department of Physics, University of Augsburg, D-86135 Augsburg, Germany

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Issue

Vol. 105, Iss. 17 — 22 October 2010

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