Effect of Quantum Collapse on the Distribution of Work in Driven Single Molecules

Two sources of quantum deviations from Jarzynski's celebrated classical relation between the free energy change and the distribution of work are analyzed using an exactly solvable harmonic model: Quantum dynamics retains the Gaussian profile of the distribution and merely gives rise to analytic corrections in variant Planck's over 2pi, whereas quantum measurements (wave function collapse) induce extended power-law tails which fundamentally alter the distribution. These results may be observed in quantum information processing and in experiments involving mechanically or optically driven single quantum objects.