Related papers: An ignition key for atomic-scale engines
There is a large interest to decrease the size of mechanical oscillators since this can lead to miniaturization of timing and frequency referencing devices, but also because of the potential of small mechanical oscillators as extremely…
Most computer simulations of molecular dynamics take place under equilibrium conditions--in a closed, isolated system, or perhaps one held at constant temperature or pressure. Sometimes, extra tensions, shears, or temperature gradients are…
Because of its nonequilibrium character, active matter in a steady state can drive engines that autonomously deliver work against a constant mechanical force or torque. As a generic model for such an engine, we consider systems that contain…
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…
We study two different models of optomechanical systems where a temperature gradient between two radiation baths is exploited for inducing self-sustained coherent oscillations of a mechanical resonator. Viewed from a thermodynamic…
Nanomechanical resonators are used as high performance detectors in a variety of applications such as mass spectrometry and atomic force microscopy. Initial emphasis in nanomechanical resonant sensor research was on increasing the…
In this work, we present a mechanism that, based on quantum-mechanical principles, allows one to recover kinetic energy at the nanoscale. Our premise is that very small mechanical excitations, such as those arising from sound waves…
In recent literature there has been a lot of interest in the phenomena of noise induced transport in the absence of an average bias occurring in spatially periodic systems far from equilibrium. One of the main motivations in this area is to…
Thermodynamics of nanoscale devices is an active area of research. Despite their noisy surrounding they often produce mechanical work (e.g. micro-heat engines), display rectified Brownian motion (e.g. molecular motors). This invokes…
A nonlinear oscillator with an abruptly inhomogeneous restoring force driven by an uniform oscillating force exhibits stochastic properties under specific resonance conditions. This behaviour elucidates the elementary mechanism of the…
Stochastic resonance is a counter-intuitive concept[1,2], ; the addition of noise to a noisy system induces coherent amplification of its response. First suggested as a mechanism for the cyclic recurrence of ice ages, stochastic resonance…
The ability to manipulate single atoms has opened up the door to constructing interesting and useful quantum structures from the ground up. On the one hand, nanoscale arrangements of magnetic atoms are at the heart of future quantum…
By converting energy into mechanical work, engines play a central role in most biological and technological processes. In particular, within the current trend towards the development of nanoscience and nanotechnology, microscopic engines…
We study a general model describing a self-detecting single electron transistor realized by a suspended carbon nanotube actuated by a nearby antenna. The main features of the device, recently observed in a number of experiments, are…
We study a model of synthetic molecular motor - a [3]-catenane consisting of two small macrocycles mechanically interlocked with a bigger one - subjected to a time-dependent driving using stochastic thermodynamics. The model presents…
Like their larger micron-scale counterparts, {\AA}ngstr\"om-scale chemically self-propelled motors use asymmetric catalytic activity to produce self-generated concentration gradients that lead to directed motion. Unlike their micron-scale…
Recent fabrication of atomic precision nanodevices for spintronics greatly boosted their performance and also revealed new interesting features, as oscillating magnetoresistance with number of atomic layers in a multilayered structure. This…
The quest for realizing and manipulating ever smaller man-made movable structures and dynamical machines has spurred tremendous endeavors, led to important discoveries, and inspired researchers to venture to new grounds. Scientific feats…
We describe a single-level quantum dot in contact with two leads as a nanoscale finite-time thermodynamic machine. The dot is driven by an external stochastic force that switches its energy between two values. In the isothermal regime, it…
The current induced magnetization reversal in nanoscale spin valves is a potential alternative to magnetic field switching in magnetic memory devices. We show that the critical switching current can be decreased by an order of magnitude by…