Equilibration on average in quantum processes with finite temporal resolution

Phys Rev E. 2020 Sep;102(3-1):032144. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.102.032144.

Abstract

We characterize the conditions under which a multitime quantum process with a finite temporal resolution can be approximately described by an equilibrium one. By providing a generalization of the notion of equilibration on average, where a system remains closed to a fixed equilibrium for most times, to one which can be operationally assessed at multiple times, we place an upper-bound on a new observable distinguishability measure comparing a multitime process with a finite temporal resolution against a fixed equilibrium one. While the same conditions on single-time equilibration, such as a large occupation of energy levels in the initial state remain necessary, we obtain genuine multitime contributions depending on the temporal resolution of the process and the amount of disturbance of the observer's operations on it.