Quantum work relations and response theory in parity-time-symmetric quantum systems.

Abstract

In this work, we show that a universal quantum work relation for a quantum system driven arbitrarily far from equilibrium extends to a parity-time- (PT-) symmetric quantum system with unbroken PT symmetry, which is a consequence of microscopic reversibility. The quantum Jarzynski equality, linear response theory, and Onsager reciprocal relations for the PT-symmetric quantum system are recovered as special cases of the universal quantum work relation in a PT-symmetric quantum system. In the regime of broken PT symmetry, the universal quantum work relation does not hold because the norm is not preserved during the dynamics.