2001/12/26 by I. Devetak, Igor Devetak, Devetak, I. +3
Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics #FOS: Physical sciences #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #Quantum Physics (quant-ph) #Statistical Mechanics and Entropy #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.quant-ph/0112166
8 pages, LaTeX; title changed, paper reorganized & proof of second law added
openalex publication_date 2001/12/26 · arxiv created 2002/04/03 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
A common framework for quantum mechanics, thermodynamics and information theory is presented. It is accomplished by reinterpreting the mathematical formalism of Everett's many-worlds theory of quantum mechanics and augmenting it to include preparation according to a given ensemble. The notion of directed entanglement is introduced through which both classical and quantum communication over quantum channels are viewed as entanglement transfer. This point is illustrated by proving the Holevo bound and quantum data processing inequality relying exclusively on the properties of directed entanglement. Within the model, quantum thermodynamic entropy is also related to directed entanglement, and a simple proof of the second law of thermodynamics is given.