Related papers: The Quantum Refrigerator: The quest for absolute z…
We introduce a finite-time protocol that thermalizes a quantum harmonic oscillator, initially in its ground state, without requiring a macroscopic bath. The method uses a second oscillator as an effective environment and implements sudden…
We apply advanced methods of control theory to open quantum systems and we determine finite-time processes which are optimal with respect to thermodynamic performances. General properties and necessary conditions characterizing optimal…
Autonomous quantum thermal machines are particularly suited to understand how correlations between thermal baths, a load, and a thermal machine affect the overall thermodynamic functioning of the setup. Here, we show that by tuning the…
A quantum thermal machine is an open quantum system that enables the conversion between heat and work at the micro or nano-scale. Optimally controlling such out-of-equilibrium systems is a crucial yet challenging task with applications to…
The inexorable miniaturisation of technologies, the relentless drive to improve efficiency and the enticing prospect of boosting performance through quantum effects are all compelling reasons to investigate microscopic machines. Thermal…
We discuss the application of techniques of quantum estimation theory and quantum metrology to thermometry. The ultimate limit to the precision at which the temperature of a system at thermal equilibrium can be determined is related to the…
The ability to initialize quantum registers in pure states lies at the core of many applications of quantum technologies, from sensing to quantum information processing and computation. In this paper, we tackle the problem of increasing the…
We show that quantum absorption refrigerators, which have traditionally been studied as of three qubits, each of which is connected to a thermal reservoir, can also be constructed by using three qubits and two thermal baths, where two of…
We analyze the lowest achievable temperature for a mechanical oscillator (representing, for example, the motion of a single trapped ion) which is coupled with a driven quantum refrigerator. The refrigerator is composed of a parametrically…
We analyse a quantum Otto refrigerator based on a superconducting qubit coupled to two LC-resonators each including a resistor acting as a reservoir. We find various operation regimes: nearly adiabatic (low driving frequency), ideal Otto…
Conventional autonomous quantum refrigerators rely on uncorrelated heat exchange between the working system and baths via two-body interactions enabled by single-photon transitions and positive-temperature work baths, inherently limiting…
We investigate a universal behavior of thermodynamics and evaporation process for the regular black holes. We newly observe an important point where the temperature is maximum, the heat capacity is changed from negative infinity to positive…
We investigate the nonequilibrium refrigeration of one and two-qubit systems in a squeezed thermal bath. We characterize the performance of one and two-qubit refrigerators in the presence of squeezed heat baths, in terms of their…
Various quantum systems are considered as the working substance for the analysis of quantum heat cycles and quantum refrigerators. The ongoing technological challenge is how efficiently can a heat engine convert thermal energy to mechanical…
We consider a finite one-dimensional chain of quantum rotors interacting with a set of thermal baths at different temperatures. When the interaction between the rotors is made chiral, such a system behaves as an autonomous thermal motor,…
In this work, we present a compact analytical approximation for the quantum partition function of systems composed of quantum oscillators. The proposed formula is general and applicable to an arbitrary number of oscillators described by a…
We propose the use of a quantum thermal machine for low-temperature thermometry. A hot thermal reservoir coupled to the machine allows for simultaneously cooling the sample while determining its temperature without knowing the…
We investigate the fundamental dimensional limits to thermodynamic machines. In particular we show that it is possible to construct self-contained refrigerators (i.e. not requiring external sources of work) consisting of only a small number…
We review the non-zero temperature relaxational dynamics of quantum systems near a zero temperature, second-order phase transition. We begin with the quantum Ising chain, for which universal and exact results for the relaxation rates can be…
Invasiveness of quantum measurements is a genuinely quantum mechanical feature that is not necessarily detrimental: Here we show how quantum measurements can be used to fuel a cooling engine. We illustrate quantum measurement cooling (QMC)…