How much work can a quantum device extract from a heat engine?
Quantum Physics
2013-10-11 v2
Abstract
Work extraction from a heat engine in a cycle by a quantum mechanical device (quantum "piston") is analyzed. The standard definition of work fails in the quantum domain. The correct extractable work and its efficiency bound are shown to crucially depend on the initial quantum state of the piston. The transient efficiency bound may exceed the standard Carnot bound, although it complies with the second law. Energy gain (e.g. in lasing) is shown to drastically differ from work gain.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1302.3468,
title = {How much work can a quantum device extract from a heat engine?},
author = {D. Gelbwaser-Klimovsky and R. Alicki and G. Kurizki},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1302.3468},
year = {2013}
}
Comments
Replaced by arXiv:1306.1472 [quant-ph]