Strong coupling quantum thermodynamics and beyond

It is virtually impossible to overstate the importance of thermodynamics for our scientific understanding of physical systems. It accurately describes the behavior of systems consisting of an enormous number of constituents, like particles of a gas in a container, while requiring only a handful number of parameters such as pressure, volume and temperature to capture the essential features of the system. It seems fair to say that no other physical theory has so wide ranged applications and is valid for such a prolific spectrum of settings and physical systems. Having said that, the basic laws have originally been guided by the functioning of macroscopic machines, devices to which the laws of classical physical apply. But what happens if we consider smaller and smaller devices and machines? What if the machines are so small that no longer classical physics is reasonably applicable, but quantum laws and effects are expected to play an important role? In recent years, it is increasingly appreciated that thermodynamic and statistical laws have to be carefully reconsidered in this situation. Then indeed notions of entanglement and other correlations matter, and so do fluctuations and quantities beyond first moments, as well as limits to control. In this talk, I will on the one hand review recent developments in the emergent field of quantum thermodynamics. On the other hand, I will present recent own results on strong coupling corrections in quantum thermodynamics and the emergence of statistical ensembles without invoking any notion of typicality.