Quantum thermodynamics in nonequilibrium
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Quantum Physics arXiv:2602.09074 (quant-ph) [Submitted on 9 Feb 2026] Title:Quantum thermodynamics in nonequilibrium Authors:Md Manirul Ali, Po-Wen Chen View a PDF of the paper titled Quantum thermodynamics in nonequilibrium, by Md Manirul Ali and 1 other authors View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract:Understanding thermodynamics far from equilibrium at the quantum scale remains a fundamental challenge, particularly in the presence of quantum coherence. Here we develop a first-principles framework for nonequilibrium quantum thermodynamics by integrating quantum resource theory of coherence with thermodynamic laws. We derive a previously unexplored entropy balance relation that explicitly separates entropy flux due to heat exchange from entropy production arising from the loss of quantum coherence. This formulation identifies the appropriate thermodynamic entropy in nonequilibrium quantum processes as the energy entropy associated with energy measurements, demonstrating that the von Neumann entropy does not, in general, represent thermodynamic entropy away from equilibrium. Within this framework, dynamical temperature, free energy, work, and heat are consistently defined, and both the first and second laws are shown to hold far from equilibrium. Applying the theory to an exactly solvable open quantum system, we reveal how equilibrium thermodynamics emerges dynamically in the weak-coupling limit. Our results establish a unified and operational foundation for nonequilibrium quantum thermodynamics and clarify the fundamental thermodynamic role of quantum coherence. Comments: Subjects: Quantum Physics (quant-ph) Cite as: arXiv:2602.09074 [quant-ph] (or arXiv:2602.09074v1 [quant-ph] for this version) https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2602.09074 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration) Submission history From: Md Manirul Ali [view email] [v1] Mon, 9 Feb 2026 13:52:46 UTC (597 KB) Full-text links: Access Paper: View a PDF of the paper titled Quantum thermodynamics in nonequilibrium, by Md Manirul Ali and 1 other authorsView PDFHTML (experimental)TeX Source view license Current browse context: quant-ph new | recent | 2026-02 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?)