Dresden 2006 – scientific programme

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DY: Dynamik und Statistische Physik

DY 46: Poster

DY 46.52: Poster

Thursday, March 30, 2006, 16:00–18:00, P1

Measurement of thermodynamic characteristics in small quantum systems — •Heiko Schröder and Günter Mahler — Universität Stuttgart, Institut für Theoretische Physik 1, Pfaffenwaldring 57, D-70550 Stuttgart

When considering smaller and smaller quantum systems, one would expect that a thermodynamic description of such systems should eventually fail. Surprisingly, even small quantum systems exhibit thermodynamical behaviour when in contact with an environment [1]. In this context, several ways of measuring the thermodynamic characteristics of small quantum systems are proposed and the problem of discriminating the degrees of freedom which contribute either to heat or to mechanical energy is addressed. This is done by an operational approach, considering simple quantum systems like harmonic oscillators connected to measurement devices.

[1] J. Gemmer, M. Michel, G. Mahler. Quantum Thermodynamics, LNP 657, Springer 2004