Geometric complexity in thermodynamics

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Hauptverfasser: Van Vu, Tan, Saito, Keiji
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
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author Van Vu, Tan
Saito, Keiji
author_facet Van Vu, Tan
Saito, Keiji
contents The third law of thermodynamics forbids cooling a physical system to absolute zero in a finite number of operational steps. Although this unattainability principle has been quantified for specific state-to-state transitions, a universal, dynamics-independent bound for implementing a state-agnostic reset map remains elusive. In this work, we unveil the fundamental limits of physical map implementation by deriving a trade-off relation based on geometric complexity. By analyzing continuous paths of maps on a geometric manifold, we prove that the geometric complexity of any classical stochastic map or quantum channel is bounded from below by its execution error. As a consequence, we show that achieving zero error in a state-reset operation requires a divergent geometric complexity -- a unified measure that naturally incorporates disparate physical resources, including infinite time, energetic cost, or control bandwidth. This unattainability principle holds universally across both classical and quantum regimes, establishing a strict geometric limit on the physical realization of reset operations in thermodynamic control and quantum computation.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_27858
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Geometric complexity in thermodynamics
Van Vu, Tan
Saito, Keiji
Quantum Physics
Statistical Mechanics
The third law of thermodynamics forbids cooling a physical system to absolute zero in a finite number of operational steps. Although this unattainability principle has been quantified for specific state-to-state transitions, a universal, dynamics-independent bound for implementing a state-agnostic reset map remains elusive. In this work, we unveil the fundamental limits of physical map implementation by deriving a trade-off relation based on geometric complexity. By analyzing continuous paths of maps on a geometric manifold, we prove that the geometric complexity of any classical stochastic map or quantum channel is bounded from below by its execution error. As a consequence, we show that achieving zero error in a state-reset operation requires a divergent geometric complexity -- a unified measure that naturally incorporates disparate physical resources, including infinite time, energetic cost, or control bandwidth. This unattainability principle holds universally across both classical and quantum regimes, establishing a strict geometric limit on the physical realization of reset operations in thermodynamic control and quantum computation.
title Geometric complexity in thermodynamics
topic Quantum Physics
Statistical Mechanics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.27858