Exploring Noisy Quantum Thermodynamical Processes via the Depolarizing-Channel Approximation
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Quantum Physics arXiv:2601.16317 (quant-ph) [Submitted on 22 Jan 2026] Title:Exploring Noisy Quantum Thermodynamical Processes via the Depolarizing-Channel Approximation Authors:Jian Li, Xiaoyang Wang, Marcus Huber, Nicolai Friis, Pharnam Bakhshinezhad View a PDF of the paper titled Exploring Noisy Quantum Thermodynamical Processes via the Depolarizing-Channel Approximation, by Jian Li and 4 other authors View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract:Noise and errors are unavoidable in any realistic quantum process, including processes designed to reduce noise and errors in the first place. In particular, quantum thermodynamical protocols for cooling can be significantly affected, potentially altering both their performance and efficiency. Analytically characterizing the impact of such errors becomes increasingly challenging as the system size grows, particularly in deep quantum circuits where noise can accumulate in complex ways. To address this, we introduce a general framework for approximating the cumulative effect of gate-dependent noise using a global depolarizing channel. We specify the regime in which this approximation provides a reliable description of the noisy dynamics. Applying our framework to the thermodynamical two-sort algorithmic cooling (TSAC) protocol, we analytically derive its asymptotic cooling limit in the presence of noise. Using the cooling limit, the optimal cooling performance is achieved by a finite number of qubits--distinguished from the conventional noiseless TSAC protocol by an infinite number of qubits--and fundamental bounds on the achievable ground-state population are derived. This approach opens new avenues for exploring noisy quantum thermodynamical processes. Comments: Subjects: Quantum Physics (quant-ph) Report number: RIKEN-iTHEMS-Report-26 Cite as: arXiv:2601.16317 [quant-ph] (or arXiv:2601.16317v1 [quant-ph] for this version) https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2601.16317 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration) Submission history From: Pharnam Bakhshinezhad [view email] [v1] Thu, 22 Jan 2026 20:52:58 UTC (2,091 KB) Full-text links: Access Paper: View a PDF of the paper titled Exploring Noisy Quantum Thermodynamical Processes via the Depolarizing-Channel Approximation, by Jian Li and 4 other authorsView PDFHTML (experimental)TeX Source view license Current browse context: quant-ph new | recent | 2026-01 References & Citations INSPIRE HEP NASA ADSGoogle Scholar Semantic Scholar export BibTeX citation Loading... BibTeX formatted citation × loading... Data provided by: Bookmark Bibliographic Tools Bibliographic and Citation Tools Bibliographic Explorer Toggle Bibliographic Explorer (What is the Explorer?) Connected Papers Toggle Connected Papers (What is Connected Papers?) Litmaps Toggle Litmaps (What is Litmaps?) scite.ai Toggle scite Smart Citations (What are Smart Citations?) Code, Data, Media Code, Data and Media Associated with this Article alphaXiv Toggle alphaXiv (What is alphaXiv?) Links to Code Toggle CatalyzeX Code Finder for Papers (What is CatalyzeX?) DagsHub Toggle DagsHub (What is DagsHub?) GotitPub Toggle Gotit.pub (What is GotitPub?) Huggingface Toggle Hugging Face (What is Huggingface?) Links to Code Toggle Papers with Code (What is Papers with Code?) ScienceCast Toggle ScienceCast (What is ScienceCast?) Demos Demos Replicate Toggle Replicate (What is Replicate?) Spaces Toggle Hugging Face Spaces (What is Spaces?) Spaces Toggle TXYZ.AI (What is TXYZ.AI?) Related Papers Recommenders and Search Tools Link to Influence Flower Influence Flower (What are Influence Flowers?) Core recommender toggle CORE Recommender (What is CORE?) Author Venue Institution Topic About arXivLabs arXivLabs: experimental projects with community collaborators arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website. Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them. Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs. Which authors of this paper are endorsers? | Disable MathJax (What is MathJax?)