Related papers: Molecular kinetic analysis of a finite-time Carnot…
Based on quantum thermodynamic processes, we make a quantum-mechanical (QM) extension of the typical heat engine cycles, such as the Carnot, Brayton, Otto, and Diesel cycles, etc. The temperature is not included in these QM engine cycles,…
In a quantum Stirling heat engine, the heat exchanged with two thermal baths is partly utilized for performing work by redistributing the energy levels of the working substance. We analyze the thermodynamics of a quantum Stirling engine…
An expression for the energetic efficiency of a molecular motor is presented in terms of an effective temperature, which was defined based on the ratio of the correlation function to the susceptibility of its velocity. We also present a…
Observed efficiencies of industrial power plants are often approximated by the square-root formula: $1-\sqrt{T_-/T_+}$, where $T_+ (T_-)$ is the highest (lowest) temperature achieved in the plant. This expression can be derived within…
We investigate the performance of an underdamped stochastic heat engine for a time-dependent harmonic oscillator. We analytically determine the optimal protocol that maximizes the efficiency at fixed power. The maximum efficiency reduces to…
The minimal set of thermodynamic control parameters consists of a statistical (thermal) and a mechanical one. These suffice to introduce all the pertinent thermodynamic variables; thermodynamic processes can then be defined as paths on this…
Efficiency at maximum power output of irreversible heat engines has attracted a lot of interest in recent years. We discuss the occurance of a particularly simple and elegant formula for this efficiency in various different models. The…
A theoretical thermodynamic cycle more efficient than an infinite set of Carnot engines is presented. This result is unexpected from the point of view of classical thermodynamics.
Many-body systems relaxing to equilibrium can exhibit complex dynamics even if their steady state is trivial. At low temperatures or high densities their evolution is often dominated by steric hindrances affecting particle motion [1,2,3].…
Since its inception about two centuries ago thermodynamics has sparkled continuous interest and fundamental questions. According to the second law no heat engine can have an efficiency larger than Carnot's efficiency. The latter can be…
It is known that an engine with ideal efficiency ($\eta =1$ for a chemical engine and $e = e_{\rm Carnot}$ for a thermal one) has zero power because a reversible cycle takes an infinite time. However, at least from a theoretical point of…
The condition for stationary engines to attain the Carnot efficiency in and beyond the linear response regime is investigated. We find that this condition for finite-size engines is significantly different from that for macroscopic engines…
The efficiency at the maximum power (EMP) for finite-time Carnot engines established with the low-dissipation model, relies significantly on the assumption of the inverse proportion scaling of the irreversible entropy generation $\Delta…
We investigate the efficiency of a quantum Carnot engine based on open quantum dynamics theory. The model includes time-dependent external fields for the subsystems controlling the isothermal and isentropic processes and for the…
According to classical Boltzmannian thermodynamics, the efficiency of a cyclic machine is strictly lower than one. Such a result is a straightforward consequence of the second principle of thermodynamics. Recent advances in the study of the…
We study the minimally nonlinear irreversible heat engines in which the time-reversal symmetry for the systems may b e broken. The expressions for the power and the efficiency are derived, in which the effects of the nonlinear terms due to…
We study the problem of thermoelectricity and propose a simple microscopic mechanism for the increase of thermoelectric efficiency. We consider the cross transport of particles and energy in open classical ergodic billiards. We show that,…
We show that generic systems with a single relevant conserved quantity reach the Carnot efficiency in the thermodynamic limit. Such a general result is illustrated by means of a diatomic chain of hard-point elastically colliding particles…
The Curzon-Ahlborn efficiency has long served as the definite upper bound for the thermal efficiency at maximum output power, and has thus shaped the development of finite-time thermodynamics. In this paper, we repeal the ruling consensus…
In a recent Letter [EPL, 118 (2017) 40003], Polettini and Esposito claimed that it is theoretically possible for a thermodynamic machine to achieve Carnot efficiency at divergent power output through the use of infinitely-fast processes. It…