2020/08/31 by Paolo Abiuso, Harry J. D. Miller, Martí Perarnau-Llobet +1
Physics and Astronomy · #quant-ph #cond-mat.stat-mech
paper · pdf · doi:10.3390/e22101076
published as Entropy 22(10), 1076 (2020) · Published in the special issue "Finite-Time Thermodynamics" of Entropy edited by S. Berry, P. Salamon, and B. Andresen v3: Typo corrected in Eq. (49)
arxiv created 2021/08/30 · arxiv updated 2021/08/31
Differential geometry offers a powerful framework for optimising and characterising finite-time thermodynamic processes, both classical and quantum. Here, we start by a pedagogical introduction to the notion of thermodynamic length. We review and connect different frameworks where it emerges in the quantum regime: adiabatically driven closed systems, time-dependent Lindblad master equations, and discrete processes. A geometric lower bound on entropy production in finitetime is then presented, which represents a quantum generalisation of the original classical bound. Following this, we review and develop some general principles for the optimisation of thermodynamic processes in the linear-response regime. These include constant speed of control variation according to the thermodynamic metric, absence of quantum coherence, and optimality of small cycles around the point of maximal ratio between heat capacity and relaxation time for Carnot engines.