Work and its fluctuations in a driven quantum system

We analyze work done on a quantum system driven by a control field. The average work depends on the whole dynamics of the system, and is obtained as the integral of the average power operator. As a specific example we focus on a superconducting Cooper-pair box forming a two-level system. We obtain expressions for the average work and work distribution in a closed system, and discuss control field and environment contributions to the average work for an open system. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.87.060508