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Demonstrating Quantum Microscopic Reversibility Using Coherent States of Light

Marco Bellini, Hyukjoon Kwon, Nicola Biagi, Saverio Francesconi, Alessandro Zavatta, and M. S. Kim
Phys. Rev. Lett. 129, 170604 – Published 20 October 2022
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Abstract

The principle of microscopic reversibility lies at the core of fluctuation theorems, which have extended our understanding of the second law of thermodynamics to the statistical level. In the quantum regime, however, this elementary principle should be amended as the system energy cannot be sharply determined at a given quantum phase space point. In this Letter, we propose and experimentally test a quantum generalization of the microscopic reversibility when a quantum system interacts with a heat bath through energy-preserving unitary dynamics. Quantum effects can be identified by noting that the backward process is less likely to happen in the existence of quantum coherence between the system’s energy eigenstates. The experimental demonstration has been realized by mixing coherent and thermal states in a beam splitter, followed by heterodyne detection in an optical setup. We verify that the quantum modification for the principle of microscopic reversibility is critical in the low-temperature limit, while the quantum-to-classical transition is observed as the temperature of the thermal field gets higher.

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  • Received 23 May 2022
  • Revised 7 September 2022
  • Accepted 8 September 2022

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.170604

© 2022 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Quantum Information, Science & Technology

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Microscopic Reversibility Goes Quantum

Published 20 October 2022

A fundamental principle in statistical mechanics called microscopic reversibility has been extended to the quantum world.  

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Authors & Affiliations

Marco Bellini1,2,*, Hyukjoon Kwon3,†, Nicola Biagi1,2, Saverio Francesconi1,2, Alessandro Zavatta1,2, and M. S. Kim4,‡

  • 1Istituto Nazionale di Ottica (CNR-INO), Largo Enrico Fermi 6, 50125 Florence, Italy
  • 2LENS and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Firenze, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy
  • 3Korea Institute for Advanced Study, Seoul 02455, South Korea
  • 4QOLS, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom

  • *marco.bellini@ino.cnr.it
  • hjkwon@kias.re.kr
  • m.kim@imperial.ac.uk

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Issue

Vol. 129, Iss. 17 — 21 October 2022

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