Hi all,
Last week we decided that the talks will now be held on Thursdays at 17:15. This week's talk will be by Oscar in CAB at the new time.
Also, next Tuesday (9th) we have an additional talk by Hans Christian Oettinger at 15:00 in HIT *J52*
Title: Dissipative quantum systems from a nonequilibrium thermodynamicist's perspective
Abstract: I present modern nonequilibrium thermodynamics with a strong emphasis on the underlying geometric ideas and concepts. The geometric structures are then used as a key to finding a generalization from classical to quantum systems. This generalization step is supported by the "principle of beauty."
Whereas linearity is natural in quantum mechanics, it is rather unusual in thermodynamics (because of the presence of entropy). Accordingly, the thermodynamic quantum maser equation resulting from the geometric generalization is nonlinear (and hence not of the familiar Lindblad form). This nonlinearity improves the behavior of the solutions.
I illustrate the general ideas mainly in the context of the two-level system of quantum optics or NMR.
Cheers,
Roger