Landi’s group

Quantum Thermodynamics and Quantum Transport (QT2) group
University of Rochester, USA.

Research

Professor Landi received his PhD from the University of São Paulo, Brazil, in 2012. He was an assistant professor at UFABC (2013-2016), and at the University of São Paulo (2016-2022). He joined the University of Rochester in 2022 as an associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. He is also an associate editor at Physical Review Research, and a member of the Brazilian Physical Society. 

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Research overview

Professor Landi’s research is in the field of theoretical quantum information sciences and technologies. He is a specialist in the field of open quantum systems, with applications to quantum thermodynamics, quantum transport and quantum metrology. In particular, his research focuses on reformulating the laws of thermodynamics, and concepts such as resource expenditure and irreversibility, within a quantum-coherent context. Prof. Landi also specializes in the statistical description of quantum trajectories, combining the tools of quantum mechanics with stochastic processes. The research aims to address fundamental questions, as well as propose novel applications in quantum sensing, energy harvesting devices and quantum computing. 

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Research interests

  • Theory of open quantum systems.
  • Quantum stochastic processes.
  • Quantum thermodynamics.
  • Quantum information theory.
  • Quantum metrology.

 

Motivation

 

Thermodynamics constitutes one of the pillars of natural sciences, describing diverse concepts from the arrow of time to the efficiency of engines and motors. Above all, thermodynamics is a pragmatic theory: it offers clear and simple guidelines on which process can or cannot happen. However, in order to accomplish this, it relies on a few very strong assumptions. Most importantly is the notion of emergent phenomena, that take place when dealing with a macroscopically large number of particles. In essence, thermodynamics describes systems which are so unbearably complicated that they actually become simple; while a system of 50 particles may rely on all its degrees of freedom to be described, a system with 10^(23) relies only on a handful, such as energy, pressure and entropy.

 

In view of its simplicity and success, it becomes natural to ask whether the laws of thermodynamics can also be extended to other scenarios. That is, whether there exist systems that lie beyond the standard thermodynamic paradigm but which nonetheless enjoy a similarly simple and powerful set of rules. In the last four decades this question has been partially addressed in the micro- and mesoscopic regime. Initially it was believed that microscopic systems were simply not thermodynamic. However, it is now known that a consistent theoretical framework can be built, provided one interprets thermodynamic quantities such as heat and work as random variables, subject to fluctuations that are inherent of small systems. This field is called stochastic thermodynamics and has been remarkably successful in describing a diverse set of systems and processes, from biological engines to nanoscale junctions.

 

Small systems should also be subject to the rules of quantum mechanics. However, due to the phenomena of decoherence, most quantum phenomena never manifest themselves in practice. Effects such as entanglement and superposition are fragile, being quickly lost due to the contact between the system and its surroundings. This has been the main motivation behind the so-called quantum coherent platforms: systems in which the effects of the environment can be controlled to shield it from decoherence. Examples include superconducting circuits, optomechanical devices, trapped ions, ultra-cold atoms and so on. In such systems, classical effects such as heat flow can be combined with quantum effects, such as entanglement, to produce exciting new phenomena.

 

The remarkable progress in quantum coherent experiments is the main drive behind the field of quantum thermodynamics. The laws developed in stochastic thermodynamics now have to be updated to include such novel features. Quantities such as entanglement now play the role of an informational resource, which in this regime can be combined with standard energetic resources such as heat and work. Such resources can be consumed to perform thermodynamic tasks or interconverted from one another. In addition, the backaction from quantum measurements (“wavefunction collapse”) also plays a central role. This backaction makes quantum thermodynamics extrinsic; i.e., dependent not only on the process itself, but also on the way the experimenter chooses the probe that process.

 

Absolutely central to thermodynamics is the second law and the concept of entropy production. Entropy does not satisfy a continuity equation, in the sense that the entropy leaving one system does not have to equal the entropy entering another. In addition to possible entropy flows, there may also be some entropy which is irreversibly produced during the process. Since entropy can only flow or be created, the net entropy is always an increasing function of time. Since this imposes constraints on which kinds of processes may occur, it has both a foundational significance, concerning the arrow of time, as well a practical one, providing guidelines on how to design better devices.

Goals

 

The overarching goal of my research is to formulate a set of operationally useful laws of thermodynamics in the quantum regime. These should contemplate informational and energetic resources on equal footing and also account for the measurement backaction. Moreover, it should also recover stochastic thermodynamics in the classical limit. My research has revolved, in particular, around the question of how to formulate the second law in the quantum regime. To date, the most prolific approach has been to connect entropy production with information-theoretic quantities. Information theory views probabilities and quantum states as descriptions of the amount of information one has about a system, as well as the amount of information shared between two or more systems. Entropy production can then viewed as a measure of how much information the system shares with its surroundings. And irreversibility emerges from the fact that this information is seldom retrievable, specially when the environment is large.

 

Viewing the second law in this way opens up many exciting perspectives. First, it allows for a unified description of heat and information engines (such as Maxwell’s demons or Szilard engines). Second, it places Landauer’s principle on information erasure on equal footing as work extraction or related tasks that are common in e.g. biological systems. Third, it naturally encompasses the effect of the measurement backaction, which disturbs the information shared between system and environment.

 

In light of this, some of the questions that I have recently addressed and which I plan to continue examining in the near future, include:

  • Thermodynamic Uncertainty Relations.
  • Continuously monitored quantum systems.
  • Thermometry at the quantum regime.
  • Collisional models.
  • Fully quantum fluctuation theorems.
  • Thermodynamics in quantum phase space.
  • Entropy production at criticality.

You can also browse through our list of publications or click here for accessing the research project of each student in the group. 

 

List of previous collaborators:
 

‍            Adalberto D. Varizi            Universidade de São Paulo

‍            Adam Hewgill                Queen’s University in Belfast

‍            Adam Hammoumi            Université de Lorraine

‍            Albert Schliesser            Niels Bohr Institute

‍            Alberto L. de Paula Jr            Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

‍            Alessio Belenchia            Universität Tübingen

‍            Alessandra Chioquetta            Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

‍            Alexandre M. Souza            Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas

‍            Alessandro Ferraro            Queen’s University in Belfast

‍            Alexssandre de Oliveira Junior        Technical University of Denmark

‍            Alice Caroline de Oliveira Vianak        Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte

‍            Alvaro M. Alhambra            Instituto de Física Teórica, CSIC

‍            André P. Vieira                Universidade de São Paulo

‍            André Timpanaro            Universidade Federal do ABC

‍            Andris Bakuzis                 Universidade Federal de Goiás

‍            Antônio C. Lourenço            Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina

‍            Antônio Carlos Seabra            Universidade de São Paulo

‍            Antonio Domingues dos Santos        Universidade de São Paulo

‍            Anthony Kiely                University College Dublin

‍            Archak Purkayastha            Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad

‍            Artur M. Lacerda,            Trinity College Dublin

‍            Augusto J. Roncaglia            Universidad de Buenos Aires

‍            Benjamin Morris,            Nottingham University

‍            Brendan Reid                Queen’s University in Belfast

‍            Bruno O. Goes                Universidade de São Paulo

‍            Carlos E. Fiore                Universidade de São Paulo

‍            Carlos Fernándes Noa            Universidade de São Paulo

‍            Cecília Cormick                Universidad Nacional de Córdoba

‍            Claudio Verdozzi            Lund University

‍            Daniel R. Cornejo            Universidade de São Paulo

‍            Daniel Grimmer                University of Waterloo

‍            Dario Poletti                Singapore University of Technology and Design

‍            Domingos Salazar            Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco

‍            Dragi Karevski                Université de Lorraine

‍            Dvira Segal                University of Toronto

‍            Eduardo Duzzioni            Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina

‍            Elias Nyholm                Lund University

‍            Emmanuel Pereira            Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

‍            Enrique Solano                University of the Basque Country

‍            Eoin O'Connor                University College Dublin

‍            Eric Lutz                Stuttgart University 

‍            Eva Natividad                Universidad de Zaragoza

‍            Fabiana Arantes                Universidade de São Paulo

‍            Fabrício S. Luiz                Universidade de Campinas

‍            Felipe Barra                Universidad de Chile

‍            Felipe Fernandes Fanchini        Universidade Estadual de São Paulo

‍            Federico Roccati                University of Palermo

‍            Felix Binder                Trinity College Dublin

‍            Fernando Semião            Universidade Federal do ABC

‍            Filipe V. Melo                Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas

‍            Florian Meier                TU Wien

‍            Francesco Ciccarello            University of Palermo

‍            Franklin L. S. Rodrigues            Universidade de São Paulo

‍            Frederico Brito                Technology Innovation Institute

‍            Gabriel Aguilar                Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

‍            Gabriele de Chiara            Queen’s University in Belfast

‍            Gabriel Oliveira Alves            Max Planck Inst. for the Phys. of Comp. Systems

‍            George Moreno                Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte

‍            Gernot Schaller                Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden Rossendorf

‍            Giacomo Guarnieri            University of Pavia

‍            Giancarlo Camilo            Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte

‍            Gerardo Adesso                Nottingham University

‍            Gonzalo Manzano            IFISC

‍            Guilherme Fiusa                University of Rochester

‍            Heitor P. Casagrande            Universidade de São Paulo

‍            Irene Andreu                Universidad de Zaragoza

‍            Ivan Medina                Trinity College Dublin    

‍            Ivan Oliveira                Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas

‍            Itzhak Roditi                Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas

‍            Jader P. Santos                Universidade de São Paulo

‍            Jason Hoelscher-Obermaier        University of Vienna

‍            Jens Eisert                Freie Universität Berlin

‍            Joab Morais Varela            Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte

‍            John Goold                Trinity College Dublin

‍            John P. S. Peterson            Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas

‍            Jonatan B. Brask                Technical University of Denmark

‍            Jorge Noronha                University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,

‍            Joseph A. Smiga                University of Rochester

‍            Juan Parrondo                Universidad Complutense de Madrid

‍            Kacper Prech                Basel University

‍            Kaonan Micadei                Stuttgart University    

‍            Karen Hovhannisyan            University of Potsdam

‍            Kavan Modi                Monash University

‍            Krissia Zawadzki            Universidade Federal de São Carlos

‍            Ladislau Vieira Teixeira Tavares        Universidade Estadual de Londrina

‍            Laetitia P. Bettmann            Trinity College Dublin

‍            Luca Mancino                Queen’s University in Belfast

‍            Lucas Céleri                Universidade Federal de Goiás

‍            Lucas Schuab                Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

‍            Luis Correa                Universidad de La Laguna    

‍            Luis F. Santos                Universidade de São Paulo

‍            Marcelo A. F. Santos            Universidade Estadual Paulista

‍            Malte Henkel                Université de Lorraine

‍            Marcelo Henrique Sousa            Universidade de Brasília

‍            Marcelo Janovitch            Basel University

‍            Marco Radaelli                Trinity College Dublin

‍            Marlon Brenes                University of Toronto

‍            Matteo Brunelli                Basel University

‍            Marcos S. Carrião            Universidade Federal de Goiás

‍            Mark Mitchison                 Trinity College Dublin

‍            Mariana A. Cipolla            Universidade de São Paulo

‍            Mario José de Oliveira            Universidade de São Paulo

‍            Martí Perarnau-Llobet            University of Geneva

‍            Massimo Palma                University of Palermo

‍            Massimiliano Esposito            University of Luxembourg

‍            Massimiliano Rossi            Niels Bohr Institute

‍            Mauriıcio Hippert            University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,

‍            Mauro Antezza                Université de Montpellier

‍            Mauro Paternostro            University of Palermo

‍            Mathias R. Jørgensen            Technical University of Denmark

‍            Michael Kewming            Trinity College Dublin

‍            Michele Coppola            Université de Lorraine

‍            Mikel Sanz                University of the Basque Country

‍            Nahum Sá                Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas

‍            Naim Elias Comar            Universidade de São Paulo

‍            Nicole Yunger Halpern            NIST

‍            Nikolai Kiesel                University of Vienna

‍            Nuriya Nurgalieva            University of Zurich

‍            Oisín Culhane                Trinity College Dublin

‍            Otavio A. D. Molitor            Universidade de São Paulo

‍            Paula F. Bienzobaz            Universidade Estadual de Londrina

‍            Paulo Henrique Souto Ribeiro        Federal University of Santa Catarina

‍            Patrick Potts                Basel University

‍            Pedro H. Guimarães            Universidade de São Paulo

‍            Pedro R. S. Gomes            Universidade Estadual de Londrina

‍            Pedro Harunari                Universidade de São Paulo

‍            Peter Samuelsson            Lund University

‍            Philip Johansson                Lund University

‍            Rafael Chaves                Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte

‍            Ralph Silva                ETH Zürich

‍            Ranieri Nery                Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte

‍            Raphael Drumond            Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

‍            Renate Landig                ETH Zürich

‍            Roberto Sarthour            Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas

‍            Roberto Serra                Universidade Federal do ABC

‍            Rodolfo Soldati                University of Waterloo

‍            Rodrigo S. Piera                Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

‍            Rolando Ramirez Camasca        Universidade de São Paulo

‍            Salvatore Lorenzo            University of Palermo

‍            Samuel L. Jacob                Trinity College Dublin

‍            Sascha Wald                Université de Lorraine

‍            Saulo H. S. Silva            Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

‍            Sebas Eliëns                Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte

‍            Sergio Romero                Universidade de São Paulo

‍            Stefan Nimmrichter            University of Siegen    

‍            Stefano Gherardini            University of Florence

‍            Stefano Scopa                Université de Lorraine

‍            Stella Seah                National University of Singapore

‍            Stephen Clark                Bristol University

‍            Steve Campbell                University College Dublin

‍            Susane Calegari                Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina

‍            Tania Tomé                Universidade de São Paulo

‍            Thaís L. Silva                Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

‍            Thiago E. Guimarães            Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

‍            Thiago O. Maciel            Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina

‍            Thomás Fogarty                Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology

‍            Tiago B. Batalhão            Universidade Federal do ABC

‍            Tiago Debarba                Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná

‍            Tobias Donner                ETH Zürich

‍            Twesh Upadhyaya            University of Maryland College Park

‍            Valerio Scarani                National University of Singapore

‍            Victor Raul Romero Aquino        Universidade Federal de Goiás

‍            Wellington L. Ribeiro            Universidade Federal do ABC

‍            William T. B. Malouf            Universidade de São Paulo

‍            William F. Braasch, Jr.            University of Maryland College Park

‍            Witlef Wieczorek            Chalmers University