The interplay between thermodynamics, general relativity and quantum mechanics has long intrigued researchers. Recently, important advances have been obtained in thermodynamics, mainly regarding its application to the quantum domain through fluctuation theorems. In this talk, I will discuss some recent advances in this field in the context of General Relativity. After presenting the physical problem at hand, I will discuss what we mean by a fluctuation relation and how it can be defined in a curved spacetime, thus taking into account gravity as described by General Relativity. I will demonstrate how the spacetime curvature can produce entropy in a localized quantum system moving in a general spacetime and how thermodynamic entropy becomes observer-dependent. This result deeply connects the arrow of time with the causal structure of spacetime due to its time orientability.
Lucas Céleri had studied physics at the State University of São Paulo (Rio Claro, SP, Brazil), finishing his undergraduate degree receiving the award for the class best academic performance. After this, he moved to the city of São Carlos (SP, Brazil) where he received his MSc degree from the Institute of Physics of São Carlos, University of São Paulo. His dissertation dealt with non-symmetric extensions of the general theory of relativity and quantum field theory in curved space-times. He received his PhD in 2008 in the same city, from the Department of Physics at Federal University of São Carlos. His thesis was developed in the field of open quantum systems and the dynamical Casimir effect. After this, he moved to the Centre for Natural and Human Sciences at Federal University of ABC, in the city of Santo André (SP, Brazil), as a postdoctoral researcher. He spent four years studying quantum information theory, specially its links with the foundations of quantum mechanics, relativity and thermodynamics both theoretically and experimentally. Since the end of 2012, Céleri hold a permanent position at the Institute of Physics of Federal University of Goiás, in the city of Goiânia (GO, Brazil), being a group leader at the Quantum Optics and Information group. His main duties are teaching (undergraduate and graduate), supervision of graduate students and to pursue research. He is also a Visiting Professor at the University of Basque Country, Spain.
La charla tendrá lugar en la Sala Luis Pesquera del IFCA a las 12:00. Café previo a las 11:45.
