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A key feature of nonequilibrium thermodynamics is the Markovian, deterministic relaxation of coarse observables such as, for example, the temperature difference between two macroscopic objects which evolves independently of almost all details of the initial state. We demonstrate that the unitary dynamics for moderately sized spin-1/2 systems may yield the same type of relaxation dynamics for a given magnetization difference. This observation might contribute to the understanding of the emergence of thermodynamics within closed quantum systems.

Abstract A quantum measuring instrument is constructed that utilises symmetry breaking to enhance a microscopic signal. The entire quantum system consists of a system–apparatus–environment triad that is composed of a small set of spin-1/2 particles. The apparatus is a ferromagnet that measures the z -component of a single spin. A full quantum many-body calculation allows for a careful examination of the loss of phase coherence, the formation and amplification of system–apparatus correlations, the irreversibility of registration, the fault tolerance, and the bias of the device. Highlights • Ferromagnetic measurement device exploits symmetry breaking to measure a spin. • Quantum interaction results in loss of phase coherence of test object. • Dynamics lead to sizeable correlation with, and enhancement of, microscopic object. • No reliable registration of pointer readings is observed after decoupling spin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We review an event-based simulation approach which reproduces the statistical distributions of quantum physics experiments by generating detection events one-by-one according to an unknown distribution and without solving a wave equation. Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen-Bohm laboratory experiments are used as an example to illustrate the applicability of this approach. It is shown that computer experiments that employ the same post-selection procedure as the one used in laboratory experiments produce data that is in excellent agreement with quantum theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We review recent work that employs the framework of logical inference to establish a bridge between data gathered through experiments and their objective description in terms of human-made concepts. It is shown that logical inference applied to experiments for which the observed events are independent and for which the frequency distribution of these events is robust with respect to small changes of the conditions under which the experiments are carried out yields, without introducing any concept of quantum theory, the quantum theoretical description in terms of the Schrödinger or the Pauli equation, the Stern-Gerlach or Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen-Bohm experiments. The extraordinary descriptive power of quantum theory then follows from the fact that it is plausible reasoning, that is common sense, applied to reproducible and robust experimental data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We review an event-based simulation approach which reproduces the statistical distributions of wave theory not by requiring the knowledge of the solution of the wave equation of the whole system but by generating detection events one-by-one according to ah unknown distribution. We illustrate its applicability to various single photon and single neutron interferometry experiments and to two Bell-test experiments, a single-photon Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen experiment employing post-selection for photon pair identification and a single-neutron Bell test interferometry experiment with nearly 100% detection efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We present a computer simulation model of Wheeler’s delayed choice experiment. The model is solely based on experimental facts and does not rely on concepts of quantum theory or probability theory. We demonstrate that it is possible to give a particle-only description of Wheeler’s delayed choice experiment which reproduces the averages calculated from quantum theory and which does not defy common sense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We discuss recent progress in the development of simulation algorithms that do not rely on any concept of quantum theory but are nevertheless capable of reproducing the averages computed from quantum theory through an event-by-event simulation. The simulation approach is illustrated by applications to Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen–Bohm experiments with photons. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Decoherence in a system of two antiferromagnetically coupled spins that interact with a spin bath environment is studied. Systems are considered that range from the rotationally invariant to highly anisotropic spin models and have different topologies and values of parameters that are fixed or are allowed to fluctuate randomly. We explore the conditions under which the two-spin system clearly shows an evolution from the initial spin-up-spin-down state towards the maximally entangled singlet state. We demonstrate that frustration and, especially, glassiness of the spin environment strongly enhances the decoherence of the two-spin system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is shown that by fitting a Markovian quantum master equation to the numerical solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation of a system of two spin-1/2 particles interacting with a bath of up to 34 spin-1/2 particles, the former can describe the dynamics of the two-spin system rather well. The fitting procedure that yields this Markovian quantum master equation accounts for all non-Markovian effects in as much the general structure of this equation allows and yields a description that is incompatible with the Lindblad equation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data of the numerical solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation of a system containing one spin-1/2 particle interacting with a bath of up to 32 spin-1/2 particles is used to construct a Markovian quantum master equation describing the dynamics of the system spin. The procedure of obtaining this quantum master equation, which takes the form of a Bloch equation with time-independent coefficients, accounts for all non-Markovian effects inasmuch the general structure of the quantum master equation allows. Our simulation results show that, with a few rather exotic exceptions, the Bloch-type equation with time-independent coefficients provides a simple and accurate description of the dynamics of a spin-1/2 particle in contact with a thermal bath. A calculation of the coefficients that appear in the Redfield master equation in the Markovian limit shows that this perturbatively derived equation quantitatively differs from the numerically estimated Markovian master equation, the results of which agree very well with the solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The logical inference approach to quantum theory, proposed earlier De Raedt et al. (2014), is considered in a relativistic setting. It is shown that the Klein–Gordon equation for a massive, charged, and spinless particle derives from the combination of the requirements that the space–time data collected by probing the particle is obtained from the most robust experiment and that on average, the classical relativistic equation of motion of a particle holds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We present a computer simulation model that is a one-to-one copy of an experimental realization of Wheeler''s delayed-choice experiment that employs a single photon source and a Mach–Zehnder interferometer composed of a input beam splitter and a variable output beam splitter with adjustable reflection coefficient [V. Jacques, E. Wu, F. Grosshans, F. Treussart, P. Grangier, A. Aspect, J.-F. Roch, Phys. Rev. Lett. 100 (2008) 220402]. For , experimentally measured values of the interference visibility and the path distinguishability , a parameter quantifying the which-path information (WPI), are found to fulfill the complementary relation , thereby allowing to obtain partial WPI while keeping interference with limited visibility. The simulation model that is solely based on experimental facts that satisfies Einstein''s criterion of local causality and that does not rely on any concept of quantum theory or of probability theory, reproduces quantitatively the averages calculated from quantum theory. Our results prove that it is possible to give a particle-only description of the experiment, that one can have full WPI even if , and therefore that the relation cannot be regarded as quantifying the notion of complementarity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]