Related papers: Linear irreversible heat engines based on the loca…
Established heat engines in quantum regime can be modeled with various quantum systems as working substances. For example, in the non-relativistic case, we can model the heat engine using infinite potential well as a working substance to…
We revisit the optimal performance of a thermoelectric generator within the endoreversible approximation, while imposing a finite physical dimensions constraint (FPDC) in the form of a fixed total area of the heat exchangers. Our analysis…
We study the ratio between the variances of work output and heat input, $\eta^{(2)}$, for a class of four-stroke heat engines which covers various typical cycles. Recent studies on the upper and lower bounds of $\eta^{(2)}$ are based on the…
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…
In the past, a number of heat engine models have been devised to apply the principles of thermodynamics to a laser. The best one known is the model using a negative temperature to describe population inversion. In this paper, we present a…
We derive a bound on the efficiency of thermal engines that can be sharper than Carnot's limit. It is a function of statistical correlations between the engine internal state and Hamiltonian, can be saturated even in finite-time cycles, and…
We study the efficiency at the maximal power $\eta_\mathrm{max}$ of a finite-time Carnot cycle of a weakly interacting gas which we can reagard as a nearly ideal gas. In several systems interacting with the hot and cold reservoirs of the…
We investigate thermoelectric efficiency of systems with broken time reversal symmetry under a three-terminal transport. Using a model of Aharonov-Bohm interferometer formed with three noninteracting quantum dots, we show that Carnot…
We consider the optimization of a finite-time Carnot engine characterized by small dissipations. We bound the power with a simple inequality and show that the optimal strategy is to perform small cycles around a given working point, which…
We analyze the efficiency of thermal engines (either quantum or classical) working with a single heat reservoir like atmosphere. The engine first gets an energy intake, which can be done in arbitrary non-equilibrium way e.g. combustion of…
The problem of inference is applied to the process of work extraction from two constant heat capacity reservoirs, when the thermodynamic coordinates of the process are not fully specified. The information that is lacking, includes both the…
We identify the operational conditions for maximum power of a nanothermoelectric engine consisting of a single quantum level embedded between two leads at different temperatures and chemical potentials. The corresponding thermodynamic…
There are few exact results on optimal power conditions for a thermoelectric generator in the presence of both external and internal irreversibilities---modelled as non-ideal thermal contacts and Joule heating, respectively. Simplified…
We evaluate the efficiency at maximum power of a quantum-dot Carnot heat engine. The universal value of the coefficients at the linear and quadratic order in the temperature gradient are reproduced. Curzon-Ahlborn efficiency is recovered in…
Irreversible processes accomplished in a fixed time involve nonlinearly coupled flows of matter, energy, and information. Here, using entropy production as an example, we show how thermodynamic uncertainty relations and speed limits on…
Nuclear power plants are prominent examples of heat-to-work conversion systems, and optimizing their thermodynamic performance offers significant potential for enhancing energy efficiency. With a development history of less than a century,…
We study the energetics of isothermal ratchets which are driven by a chemical reaction between two states and operate in contact with a single heat bath of constant temperature. We discuss generic aspects of energy transduction such as…
It is known that an engine with ideal efficiency ($\eta =1$ for a chemical engine and $e = e_{\rm Carnot}$ for a thermal one) has zero power because a reversible cycle takes an infinite time. However, at least from a theoretical point of…
Efficiency at maximum power output of irreversible heat engines has attracted a lot of interest in recent years. We discuss the occurance of a particularly simple and elegant formula for this efficiency in various different models. The…
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…