Related papers: Heat-machine control by quantum-state preparation:…
We study the performance of quantum thermal machines in which the working fluid of the model is represented by a many-body quantum system that is periodically connected with external baths via local couplings. A formal characterization of…
We consider a two-level quantum system prepared in an arbitrary initial state and relaxing to a steady state due to the action of a Markovian dissipative channel. We study how optimal control can be used for speeding up or slowing down the…
The optimal control of open quantum systems is a challenging task but has a key role in improving existing quantum information processing technologies. We introduce a general framework based on Reinforcement Learning to discover optimal…
Developments in the thermodynamics of small quantum systems envisage non-classical thermal machines. In this scenario, energy fluctuations play a relevant role in the description of irreversibility. We experimentally implement a quantum…
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 present a unified approach to study continuous measurement based quantum thermal machines in static as well as adiabatically driven systems. We investigate both steady state and transient dynamics for the time-independent case. In the…
Theoretical treatments of periodically-driven quantum thermal machines (PD-QTMs) are largely focused on the limit-cycle stage of operation characterized by a periodic state of the system. Yet, this regime is not immediately accessible for…
Quantum dynamics of driven open systems should be compatible with both quantum mechanic and thermodynamic principles. By formulating the thermodynamic principles in terms of a set of postulates we obtain a thermodynamically consistent…
We introduce quantum information engines that extract work from quantum states and a single thermal reservoir. They may operate under three general conditions: i/ Unitarily Steered evolution (US); ii/ Irreversible Thermalization (IT) and…
A key quantity characterizing a time-periodically forced quantum system coupled to a heat bath is the energy flowing in the steady state through the system into the bath, where it is dissipated. We derive a general expression which allows…
We propose a quantum heat engine based on an Aharonov-Bohm interferometer in a two-terminal geometry, and investigate its thermoelectric performances in the linear response regime. Sizeable thermopower (up to $\sim 0.3\,\text{mV}$/K) as…
According to the second law, the efficiency of cyclic heat engines is limited by the Carnot bound that is attained by engines that operate between two thermal baths under the reversibility condition whereby the total entropy does not…
Situations where a spontaneous process of energy or matter transfer is enhanced by an external device are widespread in nature (human sweating system, enzyme catalysis, facilitated diffusion across bio-membranes, industrial heat…
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…
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 extension of thermodynamics into the quantum regime has received much attention in recent years. A primary objective of current research is to find thermodynamic tasks which can be enhanced by quantum mechanical effects. With this goal…
Coherent quantum oscillators are basic physical systems both in quantum statistical physics and quantum thermodynamics. Their realizations in lab often involve solid-state devices sensitive to changes in ambient temperature. We represent…
Two testable schemes for quantum heat engines are investigated under the quantization framework of noncommutative (NC) quantum mechanics (QM). By identifying the phenomenological connection between the phase-space NC driving parameters and…
We study a quantum thermal engine model for which the heat transfer law is determined by Einstein's theory of radiation. The working substance of the quantum engine is assumed to be a two-level quantum systems of which the constituent…
Recent advances in experimental control of colloidal systems have spurred a revolution in the production of mesoscale thermodynamic devices. Functional "textbook" engines, such as the Stirling and Carnot cycles, have been produced in…