On entropy production for controlled Markovian evolution

We consider thermodynamic systems with finitely many degrees of freedom and subject to an external control action. We derive some basic results on the dependence of the relative entropy production rate on the controlling force. Applications to macromolecular cooling and to controlling the convergence to equilibrium rate are sketched. Analogous results are derived for closed and open n-level quantum systems.Comment: 19 page

Steering a quantum system over a Schroedinger bridge

A new approach to the steering problem for quantum systems relying on Nelson's stochastic mechanics and on the theory of Schroedinger bridges is presented. The method is illustrated by working out a simple Gaussian example.Comment: Proc. Intern. Conf. on the Mathematical Theory of Networks and Systems, Perpignan, France, June 2000, CD-ROM, paper nr. 268, M. Fliess and A. El Jai Ed

Derivation of the Wave Function Collapse in the Context of Nelson's Stochastic Mechanics

The von Neumann collapse of the quantum mechanical wavefunction after a position measurement is derived by a purely probabilistic mechanism in the context of Nelson's stochastic mechanics