Entropic fluctuations of quantum dynamical semigroups

We study a class of finite dimensional quantum dynamical semigroups {e}t≥0 whose generators L are sums of Lindbladians satisfying the detailed balance condition. Such semigroups arise in the weak coupling (van Hove) limit of Hamiltonian dynamical systems describing open quantum systems out of equilibrium. We prove a general entropic fluctuation theorem for this class of semigroups by relating the cumulant generating function of entropy transport to the spectrum of a family of deformations of the generatorL. We show that, besides the celebrated Evans-Searles symmetry, this cumulant generating function also satisfies the translation symmetry recently discovered by Andrieux et al., and that in the linear regime near equilibrium these two symmetries yield Kubo’s and Onsager’s linear response relations. Dedicated to Herbert Spohn on the occasion of his 65th birthday.