Entropy Rate of Thermal Diffusion

Abstract

T he thermal diffusion of a free particle is a random process and generates entropy at a rate equal to twice the particle’s temperature, ( in natural units of information per second). The rate is calculated using a Gaussian process with a variance of which is a combination of quantum and classical diffusion. The solution to the quantum diffusion of a free particle is derived from the equation for kinetic energy and its associated imaginary diffusion constant; a real diffusion constant (representing classical diffusion) is shown to be . We find the entropy of the initial state is one natural unit, which is the same amount of entropy the process generates after the de-coherence time, .