May 26 – 31, 2024
Western University
America/Toronto timezone
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Rigorous results on approach to thermal equilibrium of an optical quantum field mode scattering from the elements of a non-equilibrium quantum reservoir

May 27, 2024, 5:45 PM
15m
SSC Rm 2028 (cap. 135) (Social Science Centre, Western U)

SSC Rm 2028 (cap. 135)

Social Science Centre, Western U

Oral (Non-Student) / Orale (non-étudiant(e)) Theoretical Physics / Physique théorique (DTP-DPT) (DTP) M3-2 Quantum and Condensed Matter Theory | Théorie quantique et de la matière condensée (DPT)

Speaker

Marco Merkli

Description

Rigorous derivations of the approach of individual elements of large isolated systems to a state of thermal equilibrium, starting from arbitrary initial states, are exceedingly rare. We demonstrate how, through a mechanism of repeated scattering, an approach to equilibrium of this type actually occurs in a specific quantum system.
In particular, we consider an optical mode passing through a reservoir composed of a large number of sequentially-encountered modes of the same frequency, each of which it interacts with through a beam splitter. We analyze the dependence of the asymptotic state of this mode on the assumed stationary common initial state of the reservoir modes and on the transmittance τ = cos λ of the beam splitters. These results allow us to establish that at small λ such a mode will, starting from an arbitrary initial system state, approach a state of thermal equilibrium even when the reservoir modes are not themselves initially thermalized.

Keyword-1 open quantum system
Keyword-2 approach to equilibrium

Authors

Stephan DeBièvre (Université de Lille) Paul E. Parris (Missouri University, Rolla) Marco Merkli

Presentation materials

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