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Status of the Fundamental Laws of Thermodynamics

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Abstract

We describe recent progress towards deriving the Fundamental Laws of thermodynamics (the 0th, 1st, and 2nd Law) from nonequilibrium quantum statistical mechanics in simple, yet physically relevant models. Along the way, we clarify some basic thermodynamic notions and discuss various reversible and irreversible thermodynamic processes from the point of view of quantum statistical mechanics.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Theoretical Physics, ETH Zurich, Zurich, CH-8093, Switzerland

    Walid K. Abou Salem & Jürg Fröhlich

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  1. Walid K. Abou Salem
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  2. Jürg Fröhlich
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Correspondence to Jürg Fröhlich.

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Salem, W.K.A., Fröhlich, J. Status of the Fundamental Laws of Thermodynamics. J Stat Phys 126, 1045–1068 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10955-006-9222-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10955-006-9222-8

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