Related papers: Universality of efficiency at maximum power
Equalities are generally more suitable for experimental verification than inequalities. In this work, I derive valid equalities from the Euler-Lagrange equation for the optimization of macroscopic thermodynamic averages in weakly driven…
We study microscopic engines that use a single active particle as their "working medium". Part of the energy required to drive the directed motion of the particle can be recovered as work, even at constant temperature. A wide class of…
One of the fundamental questions in quantum thermodynamics concerns the decomposition of energetic changes into heat and work. Contrary to classical engines, the entropy change of the piston cannot be neglected in the quantum domain. As a…
The Carnot heat engine sets an upper bound on the efficiency of a heat engine. As an ideal, reversible engine, a single cycle must be performed in infinite time, and so the Carnot engine has zero power. However, there is nothing in…
The energy conversion efficiency of far-from-equilibrium systems is generally limited by irreversible thermodynamic fluxes that make contact with different heat baths. For complex systems, the states of the maximum efficiency and the…
Expanding upon the widely recognized notion of mathematical universality in Turing machines, a concept of thermodynamic universality in Turing machines is introduced. Under the physical Church-Turing thesis, the existence of a…
We investigate the nonlinear scattering theory for quantum systems with strong Seebeck and Peltier effects, and consider their use as heat-engines and refrigerators with finite power outputs. This article gives detailed derivations of the…
Thermodynamics teaches that if a system initially off-equilibrium is coupled to work sources, the maximum work that it may yield is governed by its energy and entropy. For finite systems this bound is usually not reachable. The maximum…
Thermoelectric effects, such as the generation of a particle current by a temperature gradient, have their origin in a reversible coupling between heat and particle flows. These effects are fundamental probes for materials and have…
We show that for a two-dimensional gas of elastically interacting particles the thermoelectric efficiency reaches the Carnot efficiency in the thermodynamic limit. Numerical simulations, by means of the multi-particle collision dynamics…
We consider nano-sized artificial or biological machines working in steady state enforced by imposing non-equilibrium concentrations of solutes or by applying external forces, torques or electric fields. For unicyclic and strongly coupled…
Here, we investigate the maximum power and corresponding efficiency of thermoelectric generators through devising a set of protocols for the isothermal and adiabatic processes of thermoelectricity to build a Carnot-like thermoelectric…
Thermal machines are physical systems that, when fueled by input energy, perform output tasks such as heat pumping or the production of work. Their performance is characterized with several, often competing quantities, such as power,…
We show that for systems with broken time-reversal symmetry the maximum efficiency and the efficiency at maximum power are both determined by two parameters: a "figure of merit" and an asymmetry parameter. In contrast to the time-symmetric…
Chemical gradients provide the primordial energy for biological functions by driving the mechanical movement of microscopic engines. Their thermodynamic properties remain elusive, especially concerning the dynamic change in energy demand in…
We explore the effects of quantum mechanical squeezing on the nonequilibrium thermodynamics of a coherent heat engine with squeezed reservoirs coupled to a squeezed cavity. We observe that the standard known phenomenon of flux-optimization…
The characterization and control of quantum effects in the performance of thermodynamic tasks may open new avenues for small thermal machines working in the nanoscale. We study the impact of coherence in the energy basis in the operation of…
We consider the performance of periodically driven stochastic heat engines in the linear response regime. Reaching the theoretical bounds for efficiency and efficiency at maximum power typically requires full control over the design and the…
We consider the physical situations where the resource theories of coherence and thermodynamics play competing roles. In particular, we study the creation of quantum coherence using unitary operations with limited thermodynamic resources.…
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,…