The Second Law of Thermodynamics at the Microscopic Scale

Thibaut Josset (1, 2)

1 CPT - Centre de Physique Théorique - UMR 7332
2 CPT - E4 Gravité quantique

In quantum statistical mechanics, equilibrium states have been shown to be the typical states for a system that is entangled with its environment, suggesting a possible identification between thermodynamic and von Neumann entropies. In this paper, we investigate how the relaxation toward equilibrium is made possible through interactions that do not lead to significant exchange of energy, and argue for the validity of the second law of thermodynamics at the microscopic scale.

Domaines: Physique Quantique [quant-ph]; Mécanique statistique [cond-mat.stat-mech]

Thibaut Josset. The Second Law of Thermodynamics at the Microscopic Scale. Foundations of Physics, 2017, 47 (9), pp.1185-1190. ⟨10.1007/s10701-017-0104-5⟩. ⟨hal-01662847⟩