In my lecture I will explain the basis behind the relationship between thermodynamics and (quantum) information theory. I will show how our information about the system we are manipulating allows us to extract work from it. I will then discuss some basic results relating information to thermodynamical work and illustrate this using the concept of Maxwell's demon. Finally, I will present a quantum optical experiment where a simple photon subtraction process is used to gain information about the state of light which is then fed forward to extract electrostatic work from a capacitor. Understanding whether quantum physics offers any thermodynamical advantages presents one of the main open questions in this exciting field.

报告人简介: Prof. Vlatko Vedral is a professor of quantum information theory at the University of Oxford and professor of physics at the National University of Singapore (where he is a PI at the Center for Quantum Technologies). He is currently a Chair Professor at the IIIS at Tsinghua. He is the Director of the Oxford Martin School institute on "bio-inspired quantum technologies". This explores the exciting possibility that living systems are subject to useful quantum effects, with a view to deriving and reverse-engineering achitectures to inspire future quantum technologies that will help address serious challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. He has received numerous awards in recognition for his contribution to the development of the field, including the Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award and the World Scientific Medal and Prize. He has over 260 publications on quantum physics and collaborates in many inter-disciplinary international networks. 