Related papers: Quantum-mechanical engine models and their efficie…
We consider the efficiency at maximum power of a quantum Otto engine, which uses a spin or a harmonic system as its working substance and works between two heat reservoirs at constant temperatures $T_h$ and $T_c$ $ (<T_h)$. Although the…
We study a driven harmonic oscillator operating an Otto cycle between two thermal baths of finite size. By making extensive use of the tools of Gaussian quantum mechanics, we directly simulate the dynamics of the engine as a whole, without…
We analyse non-equilibrium Carnot-like cycles built with a colloidal particle in a harmonic trap, which is immersed in a fluid that acts as a heat bath. Our analysis is carried out in the overdamped regime. The cycle comprises four…
From the thermodynamic equilibrium properties of a two-level system with variable energy-level gap $\Delta$, and a careful distinction between the Gibbs relation $dE = T dS + (E/\Delta) d\Delta$ and the energy balance equation $dE = \delta…
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…
Quantum heat engines employ as working agents multi-level systems instead of gas-filled cylinders. We consider particularly two-level agents such as electrons immersed in a magnetic field. Work is produced in that case when the electrons…
Quantum heat engines form an active field of research due to their potential applications. There are several phenomena that are unique to the quantum regime, some of which are known to give these engines an edge over their classical…
We derive the probability distribution of the efficiency of a quantum Otto engine. We explicitly compute the quantum efficiency statistics for an analytically solvable two-level engine. We analyze the occurrence of values of the stochastic…
We study the implementation of quantum engines and quantum heat pumps where the quantum adiabatic transformations are replaced by quantum Zeno strokes. During these strokes, frequent measurements are selectively performed on the external…
Quantum thermodynamics aims at investigating both the emergence and the limits of the laws of thermodynamics from a quantum mechanical microscopic approach. In this scenario, thermodynamic processes with no heat exchange, namely, adiabatic…
It is investigated whether non-Markovianity, i.e., the memory effects resulting from the coupling of the system to its environment, can be beneficial for the performance of quantum heat engines. Specifically, two physical models are…
Algebraic methods for solving time dependent Hamiltonians are used to investigate the performance of quantum thermal machines. We investigate the thermodynamic properties of an engine formed by two coupled q-bits, performing an Otto cycle.…
We identify that quantum coherence is a valuable resource in the quantum heat engine, which is designed in a quantum thermodynamic cycle assisted by a quantum Maxwell's demon. This demon is in a superposed state. The quantum work and heat…
We investigate the performance of a microscopic quantum heat engine consisting of V- or Lambda-type emitters interacting collectively or independently when being in contact with environmental thermal reservoirs. Though the efficiency of a…
A quantum thermal machine is an open quantum system coupled to hot and cold thermal baths. Thus, its dynamics can be well understood using the concepts and tools from non-Hermitian quantum systems. A hallmark of non-Hermiticity is the…
We present a theoretical and numerical analysis of a quantum system that is capable of functioning as a heat engine. This system could be realized experimentally using cold bosonic atoms confined to a double well potential that is created…
The introduction of the quantum analogue of a Carnot engine based on a bath comprising of particles with a small amount of coherence initiated an active line of research on the harnessing of different quantum resources for the enhancement…
Given a quantum heat engine that operates in a cycle that reaches maximal efficiency for a time-dependent Hamiltonian H(t) of the working substance, with overall controllable driving H(t) = g(t) H, we study the deviation of the efficiency…
We present a geometric formalism for the non-equilibrium thermodynamics of a small system coupled to external isothermal reservoirs as an application of Thouless pumping, where the electrochemical potentials of the reservoirs and parameters…
Finite-time quantum heat engines (QHEs) typically extract less work than their quasistatic counterparts because fast driving generates coherences and non-adiabatic transitions during the work strokes, a phenomenon commonly referred to as…