Complete positivity and thermodynamics in a driven open quantum system

Abstract

While it is well known that complete positivity guarantees the fulfilment of the second law of thermodynamics, its possible violations have never been proposed as a check of the complete positivity of a given open quantum dynamics. We hereby consider an open quantum micro-circuit, effectively describable as a two-level open quantum system, whose asymptotic current might be experimentally accessible. This latter could indeed be used to discriminate between its possible non-completely positive Redfield dynamics and a completely positive one obtained by standard weak-coupling limit techniques, at the same time verifying the fate of the second law of thermodynamics in such a context.

28 pages, 8 figures, LaTex

References in corpus (4)

• Completely Positive Maps and Classical Correlations
• Quantification of memory effects in the spin-boson model
• Violations of the second law of thermodynamics by a non completely positive dynamics
• Hamiltonian Composite Dynamics Can Almost Always Lead To Negative Reduced Dynamics

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Time Dependent Markovian Quantum Master Equation
• Entropy production and non-Markovian dynamical maps
• Quantum coherence-control of thermal energy transport: The V model as a case study
• Memory Effects in Quantum Processes