Related papers: Quantum heat engines and refrigerators: Continuous…
The thermodynamics of quantum systems coupled to periodically modulated heat baths and work reservoirs is developed. By identifying affinities and fluxes, the first and second law are formulated consistently. In the linear response regime,…
A fundamental challenge in quantum thermodynamics is the exploration of inherent dimensional constraints in thermodynamic machines. In the context of two-level systems, the most compact refrigerator necessitates the involvement of three…
Quantum heat engines (QHEs) have attracted long-standing scientific interest, especially inspired by considerations of the interplay between heat and work with the quantization of energy levels, quantum superposition, and entanglement.…
The performance of quantum heat engines is generally based on the analysis of a single cycle. We challenge this approach by showing that the total work performed by a quantum engine need not be proportional to the number of cycles.…
Models for quantum absorption refrigerators serve as test beds for exploring concepts and developing methods in quantum thermodynamics. Here, we depart from the minimal, ideal design and consider a generic multilevel model for a quantum…
After a brief historical perspective, we introduce the key notions of work and heat for quantum systems, to then apply them to quantum engines operating on quantum Otto and Carnot cycles. The irreversible and dissipative character of the…
At the very foundation of the second law of thermodynamics lies the fact that no heat engine operating between two reservoires of temperatures $T_C\leq T_H$ can overperform the ideal Carnot engine: $\langle W \rangle / \langle Q_H \rangle…
We analyze the behavior of a network of quantum oscillators coupled with a number of external environments. We show that the dynamics is such that the quantum state of the network always obeys a local master equation with a simple…
Originally formulated for macroscopic machines, the laws of thermodynamics were recently shown to hold for quantum systems coupled to ideal sources of work (external classical fields) and heat (systems at equilibrium). Ongoing efforts have…
Real quantum heat engines lack the separation of time and length scales that is characteristic for classical engines. They must be understood as open quantum systems in non-equilibrium with time-controlled coupling to thermal reservoirs as…
Thermodynamics plays an important role both in the foundations of physics and in technological applications. An operational perspective adopted in recent years is to formulate it as a quantum resource theory. At the core of this theory is…
We develop a physics-based model for classical computation based on autonomous quantum thermal machines. These machines consist of few interacting quantum bits (qubits) connected to several environments at different temperatures. Heat flows…
We demonstrate that a thermal transistor can be made up with a quantum system of 3 interacting subsystems , coupled to a thermal reservoir each. This thermal transistor is analogous to an electronic bipolar one with the ability to control…
Few-level systems coupled to thermal baths provide useful models for quantum thermodynamics and to understand the role of heat currents in quantum information settings. Useful operations such as cooling or thermal masers have been proposed…
We explore the possibility of enhancing the performance of small thermal machines by the presence of common noise sources. In particular, we study a prototypical model for an autonomous quantum refrigerator comprised by three qubits coupled…
We argue that thermal machines can be understood from the perspective of `virtual qubits' at `virtual temperatures': The relevant way to view the two heat baths which drive a thermal machine is as a composite system. Virtual qubits are…
Absorption refrigerators are autonomous thermal machines that harness the spontaneous flow of heat from a hot bath into the environment in order to perform cooling. Here we discuss quantum realizations of absorption refrigerators in two…
A cyclic thermodynamic heat engine runs most efficiently if it is reversible. Carnot constructed such a reversible heat engine by combining adiabatic and isothermal processes for a system containing an ideal gas. Here, we present an example…
Differences between the thermodynamic behavior of the three-level amplifier (a quantum heat engine based on a thermally pumped laser) and the classical Carnot cycle are usually attributed to the essentially quantum or discrete nature of the…
A quantum thermal device based on three nearest-neighbor coupled spin-1/2 systems controlled by the magnetic field is proposed. We systematically study the steady-state thermal behaviors of the system. When the two terminals of our system…