Experimental Verification of Dissipation-Time Uncertainty Relation

Dissipation is vital to any cyclic process in realistic systems. Recent research focus on nonequilibrium processes in stochastic systems has revealed a fundamental trade-off, called dissipation-time uncertainty relation, that entropy production rate associated with dissipation bounds the evolution pace of physical processes [Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 120604 (2020)]. Following the dissipative two-level model exemplified in the same Letter, we experimentally verify this fundamental trade-off in a single trapped ultracold Ca-40(+) ion using elaborately designed dissipative channels, along with a postprocessing method developed in the data analysis, to build the effective nonequilibrium stochastic evolutions for the energy transfer between two heat baths mediated by a qubit. Since the dissipation-time uncertainty relation imposes a constraint on the quantum speed regarding entropy flux, our observation provides the first experimental evidence confirming such a speed restriction from thermodynamics on quantum operations due to dissipation, which helps us further understand the role of thermodynamical characteristics played in quantum information processing.

Automated summary

Dissipation is crucial in cyclic processes in realistic systems, and recent research on nonequilibrium processes in stochastic systems has revealed a dissipation-time uncertainty relation that restricts the evolution pace of physical processes. The researchers experimentally verified this relation and obtained the first experimental evidence confirming the thermodynamic restriction on quantum operations due to dissipation.