Generalized Clausius Inequality for Nonequilibrium Quantum Processes

Abstract

We show that the nonequilibrium entropy production for a driven quantum system is larger than the Bures length, the geometric distance between its actual state and the corresponding equilibrium state. This universal lower bound generalizes the Clausius inequality to arbitrary nonequilibrium processes beyond linear response. We further derive a fundamental upper bound for the quantum entropy production rate and discuss its connection to the Bremermann-Bekenstein bound. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.170402 Received 1 June 2010Published 19 October 2010© 2010 The American Physical Society