Sebastian Deffner (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
Abstract. The central goal of quantum thermodynamics is to understand and improve thermodynamic devices at the nanoscale and process information. Such devices, however, generically operate far from equilibrium and are inevitably subject to thermal and quantum fluctuations. In this talk I will give an brief overview over recent developments in the thermodynamics of information at the nanoscale. In the first half, I will develop a thermodynamic theory of information, which allows to treat Maxwell's demon in a self-consistent way. In the second half, I will illustrate how methods and tools from quantum information theory can be employed to develop a conclusive framework for quantum thermodynamics.