English

High-Efficiency Three-Stroke Quantum Isochoric Heat Engine: From Infinite Potential Wells to Magic Angle Twisted Bilayer Graphene

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics 2026-01-22 v2 Applied Physics Quantum Physics

Abstract

We introduce a three-stroke quantum isochoric cycle that functions as a heat engine operating between two thermal reservoirs. Implemented for a particle confined in a one-dimensional infinite potential well, the cycle's performance is benchmarked against the classical three-stroke triangular and isochoric engines. We find that the quantum isochoric cycle achieves a higher efficiency than both classical counterparts and also surpasses the efficiency of the recently proposed three-stroke quantum isoenergetic cycle. Owing to its reduced number of strokes, the design substantially lowers control complexity in nanoscale thermodynamic devices, offering a more feasible route to experimental realization compared to conventional four-stroke architectures. We further evaluate the cycle in graphene-based systems under an external magnetic field, including monolayer graphene (MLG), AB-stacked bilayer graphene (BLG), and twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) at both magic and non-magic twist angles. Among these platforms, magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (MATBG) attains the highest efficiency at fixed work output, highlighting its promise for quantum thermodynamic applications.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2511.13652,
  title  = {High-Efficiency Three-Stroke Quantum Isochoric Heat Engine: From Infinite Potential Wells to Magic Angle Twisted Bilayer Graphene},
  author = {Hadi Mohammed Soufy and Colin Benjamin},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2511.13652},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

15 pages, 12 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. E