Dear Colleagues,

Quantum thermodynamics is a relatively new area of study that combines two seemingly disparate fields: thermodynamics and quantum mechanics. While classical thermodynamics is based on macroscopic observations of energy, heat and work, quantum thermodynamics aims to describe these phenomena on a microscopic level, using the laws of quantum mechanics, where the measurement process cannot be ignored.

One of the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics is the idea of coherence, refers to the quantum mechanical property of objects being in a superposition of states, rather than being in a definite state. For more than one particle, this idea naturally extends to entanglement. Furthermore, quantum mechanics allows the engineering of reservoirs which are not found in the classical scenario. A key idea in quantum thermodynamics is the use of quantum resources such as coherence, entanglement and non-classical reservoirs to extract a greater amount of work from a thermodynamic system than would be possible in a classical system, leading to the development of new technologies, such as quantum engines. Quantum resources are then used to create quantum machines, such as quantum engines and refrigerators. In such systems, the transfer of energy does not only occur through the movement of particles, but also transpires through the transfer of quantum information, a phenomenon in which the measurement process can play an important role.

While quantum thermodynamics is still a relatively new field, it has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of energy and work at a fundamental level and drive the development of new technologies that can be used in fields such as renewable energy, computing and nanotechnology. This Special Issue of Entropy, entitled "Advances in Quantum Thermodynamics", will be open to works that either theoretically or experimentally study the phenomenon of irreversibility during the unitary or nonunitary processes, the use of quantum resources for the improvement of thermal machines, the problem of thermalization in closed systems and many-body systems, information thermodynamics, including quantum information machines, and various other topics.

Prof. Dr. Lucas Chibebe Céleri
Dr. Norton G. De Almeida
Guest Editors

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Title: Quantum switch as a thermodynamic resource in the context of passive states
Authors: Łukasz Rudnicki
Affiliation: International Center for Theory of Quantum Technologies, University of Gdansk, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland