Quantum speed limits and the maximal rate of quantum learning

Abstract: The Bremermann-Bekenstein bound is a fundamental bound on the maximal rate with which information can be transmitted. However, its derivation relies on rather weak estimates and plausibility arguments, which make the application of the bound impractical in the laboratory. In this paper, we revisit the bound and extend its scope by explicitly accounting for the back action of quantum measurements and refined expressions of the quantum speed limit. Our result can be interpreted as an upper bound on the maximal rate of quantum learning, and we show that the Bremermann-Bekenstein bound follows as a particular limit. Our results are illustrated, by first deriving a tractable expression from time-dependent perturbation theory, and then evaluating the bound for two time-dependent systems -- the harmonic oscillator and the P\"oschl-Teller potential.