Information-flow contributions to precision–cost trade-offs in quantum systems

Determine how information flow between subsystems modifies the trade-offs between precision, entropy production, and dynamical activity for currents and related observables in the quantum regime, thereby extending thermodynamic and kinetic uncertainty relations to include information-flow terms.

Background

Thermodynamic and kinetic uncertainty relations (TURs/KURs) quantify precision–cost trade-offs for currents, with several quantum generalizations derived for Markovian dynamics. In classical multipartite systems, information flow is known to enhance precision beyond energetic costs alone.

How information flow couples with energetic costs and precision in genuinely quantum settings—where coherence and entanglement can play key roles—remains unresolved, and addressing it would unify precision bounds with information-theoretic resources.

References

However, the interplay between information flow, energetic costs, and precision in quantum domains remains an open question.

— Roadmap on Quantum Thermodynamics  (2504.20145 - Campbell et al., 28 Apr 2025) in Section 13, Quantum thermodynamics of precision: Thermodynamic and kinetic uncertainty relations — Current and future challenges

The broader question is how information cost and measurement backaction constrain collective transport once correlations arise from interactions as well as quantum statistics.

— Collective advantage from a minimal record in a quantum information engine  (2609.24558 - Liu et al., 21 Sep 2026) in Section Discussion and outlook

Whether an analogous generator-level bound \Sigma_a(\Phi)\le C(\Phi)\,\sigma_{\rm ss} holds for a suitable quantum definition of the steady-state entropy production \sigma_{\rm ss} is the main open problem.

— Information-geometric bounds on nonequilibrium relaxation in quantum Markov dynamics  (2609.09599 - Guo et al., 9 Sep 2026) in Section 5, immediately before Section 6; reiterated in Section 8, Conclusion and outlook