Abstract:
In this talk, I will discuss two topics in quantum thermodynamics for the noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) systems. The key features of these systems are their mesoscopic size, so that the quantum or thermal fluctuations cannot be neglected by taking the thermodynamic limit. This then prompts the extension of classical thermodynamics to encompass the platforms for quantum computing and communications. The first topic is thermalization of closed quantum systems, which extends the zeroth law of thermodynamics to the quantum regime. The second is the fluctuation theorem, which extends the second law of thermodynamics by treating energy and information exchanges as random quantities. The results of these studies demonstrate how quantum information enhances our understanding of thermodynamics.