English

Experimental investigation of a quantum heat engine powered by generalized measurements

Quantum Physics 2022-12-05 v3

Abstract

Generalized measurements may allow the control of its back-action on the quantum system by interpolating from a very weak to strong projective action. Such a measurement can fuel a quantum heat engine or extract work depending on the system-meter interaction. Here, we performed a proof-of-concept experiment using nuclear magnetic resonance techniques to investigate a spin quantum heat engine driven by non-selective generalized (weak) measurements without feedback control. Our prototype of a quantum thermal device operates with a measurement protocol and a single heat bath. The protocol is composed of two non-selective measurement channels with variable measurement strengths, one dedicated to fueling the device (analogous to a hot heat source) and the other committed to work extraction. The experimental results highlight that this kind of quantum thermal device can reach unit efficiency with maximum extracted power by fine-tuning of the measurement strengths.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2204.01041,
  title  = {Experimental investigation of a quantum heat engine powered by generalized measurements},
  author = {V. F. Lisboa and P. R. Dieguez and J. R. Guimarães and J. F. G. Santos and R. M. Serra},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2204.01041},
  year   = {2022}
}

Comments

9 pages, 6 figures, typos removed, closer to the published version