1,413 research outputs found
Steady state fluctuations of the dissipated heat for a quantum stochastic model
We introduce a quantum stochastic dynamics for heat conduction. A multi-level
subsystem is coupled to reservoirs at different temperatures. Energy quanta are
detected in the reservoirs allowing the study of steady state fluctuations of
the entropy dissipation. Our main result states a symmetry in its large
deviation rate function.Comment: 41 pages, minor changes, published versio
Non-equilibrium states of a photon cavity pumped by an atomic beam
We consider a beam of two-level randomly excited atoms that pass one-by-one
through a one-mode cavity. We show that in the case of an ideal cavity, i.e. no
leaking of photons from the cavity, the pumping by the beam leads to an
unlimited increase in the photon number in the cavity. We derive an expression
for the mean photon number for all times. Taking into account leaking of the
cavity, we prove that the mean photon number in the cavity stabilizes in time.
The limiting state of the cavity in this case exists and it is independent of
the initial state. We calculate the characteristic functional of this
non-quasi-free non-equilibrium state. We also calculate the energy flux in both
the ideal and open cavity and the entropy production for the ideal cavity.Comment: Corrected energy production calculations and made some changes to
ease the readin
Impact of recycling and lateral sediment input on grain size fining trends – implications for reconstructing tectonic and climate forcings in ancient sedimentary systems
Grain size trends in basin stratigraphy are thought to preserve a rich record of the climatic and tectonic controls on landscape evolution. Stratigraphic models assume that over geological timescales, the downstream profile of sediment deposition is in dynamic equilibrium with the spatial distribution of tectonic subsidence in the basin, sea level and the flux and calibre of sediment supplied from mountain catchments. Here, we demonstrate that this approach in modelling stratigraphic responses to environmental change is missing a key ingredient: the dynamic geomorphology of the sediment routing system. For three large alluvial fans in the Iglesia basin, Argentine Andes we measured the grain size of modern river sediment from fan apex to toe and characterise the spatial distribution of differential subsidence for each fan by constructing a 3D model of basin stratigraphy from seismic data. We find, using a self-similar grain size fining model, that the profile of grain size fining on all three fans cannot be reproduced given the subsidence profile measured and for any sediment supply scenario. However, by adapting the self-similar model, we demonstrate that the grain size trends on each fan can be effectively reproduced when sediment is not only sourced from a single catchment at the apex of the system, but also laterally, from tributary catchments and through fan surface recycling. Without constraint on the dynamic geomorphology of these large alluvial systems, signals of tectonic and climate forcing in grain size data are masked and would be indecipherable in the geological record. This has significant implications for our ability to make sensitive, quantitative reconstructions of external boundary conditions from the sedimentary record
Non Markovian Quantum Repeated Interactions and Measurements
A non-Markovian model of quantum repeated interactions between a small
quantum system and an infinite chain of quantum systems is presented. By
adapting and applying usual pro jection operator techniques in this context,
discrete versions of the integro-differential and time-convolutioness Master
equations for the reduced system are derived. Next, an intuitive and rigorous
description of the indirect quantum measurement principle is developed and a
discrete non Markovian stochastic Master equation for the open system is
obtained. Finally, the question of unravelling in a particular model of
non-Markovian quantum interactions is discussed.Comment: 22 page
Fluctuations of Quantum Currents and Unravelings of Master Equations
The very notion of a current fluctuation is problematic in the quantum
context. We study that problem in the context of nonequilibrium statistical
mechanics, both in a microscopic setup and in a Markovian model. Our answer is
based on a rigorous result that relates the weak coupling limit of fluctuations
of reservoir observables under a global unitary evolution with the statistics
of the so-called quantum trajectories. These quantum trajectories are
frequently considered in the context of quantum optics, but they remain useful
for more general nonequilibrium systems.
In contrast with the approaches found in the literature, we do not assume
that the system is continuously monitored. Instead, our starting point is a
relatively realistic unitary dynamics of the full system.Comment: 18 pages, v1-->v2, Replaced the former Appendix B by a (thematically)
different one. Mainly changes in the introductory Section 2+ added reference
Dissipation and Decoherence in Nanodevices: a Generalized Fermi's Golden Rule
We shall revisit the conventional adiabatic or Markov approximation, which
--contrary to the semiclassical case-- does not preserve the positive-definite
character of the corresponding density matrix, thus leading to highly
non-physical results. To overcome this serious limitation, originally pointed
out and partially solved by Davies and co-workers almost three decades ago, we
shall propose an alternative more general adiabatic procedure, which (i) is
physically justified under the same validity restrictions of the conventional
Markov approach, (ii) in the semiclassical limit reduces to the standard
Fermi's golden rule, and (iii) describes a genuine Lindblad evolution, thus
providing a reliable/robust treatment of energy-dissipation and dephasing
processes in electronic quantum devices. Unlike standard master-equation
formulations, the dependence of our approximation on the specific choice of the
subsystem (that include the common partial trace reduction) does not threaten
positivity, and quantum scattering rates are well defined even in case the
subsystem is infinitely extended/has continuous spectrum.Comment: 6 pages, 0 figure
Dissipation and Decoherence in Nanodevices: a Generalized Fermi's Golden Rule
We shall revisit the conventional adiabatic or Markov approximation, which
--contrary to the semiclassical case-- does not preserve the positive-definite
character of the corresponding density matrix, thus leading to highly
non-physical results. To overcome this serious limitation, originally pointed
out and partially solved by Davies and co-workers almost three decades ago, we
shall propose an alternative more general adiabatic procedure, which (i) is
physically justified under the same validity restrictions of the conventional
Markov approach, (ii) in the semiclassical limit reduces to the standard
Fermi's golden rule, and (iii) describes a genuine Lindblad evolution, thus
providing a reliable/robust treatment of energy-dissipation and dephasing
processes in electronic quantum devices. Unlike standard master-equation
formulations, the dependence of our approximation on the specific choice of the
subsystem (that include the common partial trace reduction) does not threaten
positivity, and quantum scattering rates are well defined even in case the
subsystem is infinitely extended/has continuous spectrum.Comment: 6 pages, 0 figure
Dissipation and Decoherence in Nanodevices: a Generalized Fermi's Golden Rule
We shall revisit the conventional adiabatic or Markov approximation, which
--contrary to the semiclassical case-- does not preserve the positive-definite
character of the corresponding density matrix, thus leading to highly
non-physical results. To overcome this serious limitation, originally pointed
out and partially solved by Davies and co-workers almost three decades ago, we
shall propose an alternative more general adiabatic procedure, which (i) is
physically justified under the same validity restrictions of the conventional
Markov approach, (ii) in the semiclassical limit reduces to the standard
Fermi's golden rule, and (iii) describes a genuine Lindblad evolution, thus
providing a reliable/robust treatment of energy-dissipation and dephasing
processes in electronic quantum devices. Unlike standard master-equation
formulations, the dependence of our approximation on the specific choice of the
subsystem (that include the common partial trace reduction) does not threaten
positivity, and quantum scattering rates are well defined even in case the
subsystem is infinitely extended/has continuous spectrum.Comment: 6 pages, 0 figure
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