Thermodynamics of quantum switch information capacity activation

Abstract

We address a new setting where the second law is under question: thermalizations in a quantum superposition of causal orders, enacted by the so-called quantum switch. This superposition has been shown to be associated with an increase in the communication capacity of the channels, yielding an apparent violation of the data-processing inequality and a possibility to separate hot from cold. We analyze the thermodynamics of this information capacity increasing process. We show how the information capacity increase is compatible with thermodynamics. We show that there may indeed be an information capacity increase for consecutive thermalizations obeying the first and second laws of thermodynamics if these are placed in an indefinite order and moreover that only a significantly bounded increase is possible. The increase comes at the cost of consuming a thermodynamic resource, the free energy of coherence associated with the switch.

arXiv comment6+7pages,4 figures

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• Experimental Aspects of Indefinite Causal Order in Quantum Mechanics
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• Experimental Realization of Self-Contained Quantum Refrigeration
• Experimental Validation of Enhanced Information Capacity by Quantum Switch in Accordance with Thermodynamic Laws
• Experimentally demonstrating indefinite causal order algorithms to solve the generalized Deutsch's problem
• Quantum Causal Inference with Extremely Light Touch
• Memory in quantum processes with indefinite time direction and causal order
• Interplay between the Hilbert-space dimension of a control system and the memory induced by a quantum SWITCH
• Quantum harvester enables energy transfer without randomness transfer or dissipation
• Emergent non-Markovianity and dynamical quantification of the quantum switch
• Superpositions of thermalisations in relativistic quantum field theory
• Thermodynamic criteria for signaling in quantum channels
• Entropic uncertainty under indefinite causal order and input-output direction