Related papers: From single-shot towards general work extraction i…
We present an accelerated algorithm that samples correctly the thermodynamic ensemble in complex systems where the dynamics is controlled by activation barriers. The efficiency of the thermodynamically-weighted activation-relaxation…
The validity of the Jarzynski equation for a very simple, exactly solvable quantum system is analyzed. The implications of two different definitions of work proposed in the literature are investigated. The first one derives from…
Maximizing the amount of work harvested from an environment is important for a wide variety of biological and technological processes, from energy-harvesting processes such as photosynthesisto energy storage systems such as fuels and…
We study the one-shot distillation of general quantum resources, providing a unified quantitative description of the maximal fidelity achievable in this task, and revealing similarities shared by broad classes of resources. We establish…
Various approaches of defining and determining work performed on a quantum system are compared. Any operational definition of work, however, must allow for two facts, first, that work characterizes a process rather than an instantaneous…
We reassess the concept of transition at minimum work in classical stochastic finite-time thermodynamics, when the system dynamics is modelled by a diffusion process. We show that a well-posed formulation of the optimal control problem…
We determine the maximal work extractable via a cyclic Hamiltonian process from a positive-temperature ($T>0$) microcanonical state of a $N\gg 1$ spin bath. The work is much smaller than the total energy of the bath, but can be still much…
We study work extraction (defined as the difference between the initial and the final energy) in noninteracting and (effectively) weakly interacting isolated fermionic quantum lattice systems in one dimension, which undergo a sequence of…
We present a rigorous approach, based on the concept of continuous thermomajorisation, to algorithmically characterise the full set of energy occupations of a quantum system accessible from a given initial state through weak interactions…
There are both practical and foundational motivations to consider the thermodynamics of quantum systems at small scales. Here we address the issue of autonomous quantum thermal machines that are tailored to achieve some specific…
The optimization of the conversion of thermal energy into work and the minimization of dissipation for nano- and mesoscopic systems is a complex challenge because of the important role fluctuations play on the dynamics of small systems. We…
In this paper, unambiguous redefinitions of heat and work are presented for quantum thermodynamic systems. We will use genuine reasoning based on which Clausius originally defined work and heat in establishing thermodynamics. The change in…
In this study, the minimum amount of work needed to drive a thermodynamic system from one initial distribution to another in a given time duration is discussed. Equivalently, for given amount of work, the minimum time duration required to…
Many studies of quantum-size heat engines assume that the dynamics of an internal system is unitary and that the extracted work is equal to the energy loss of the internal system. Both assumptions, however, should be under scrutiny. In the…
The second law of thermodynamics, formulated as an ultimate bound on the maximum extractable work, has been rigorously derived in multiple scenarios. However, the unavoidable limitations that emerge due to the lack of control on small…
The fundamentals of a quantum heat engine are derived from first principles. The study is based on the equation of motion of a minimum set of operators which is then used to define the state of the system. The relation between the quantum…
Thermodynamics is traditionally constrained to the study of macroscopic systems whose energy fluctuations are negligible compared to their average energy. Here, we push beyond this thermodynamic limit by developing a mathematical framework…
We investigate how the presence of quantum correlations can influence work extraction in closed quantum systems, establishing a new link between the field of quantum non-equilibrium thermodynamics and the one of quantum information theory.…
One of the most important goals in quantum thermodynamics is to demonstrate advantages of thermodynamic protocols over their classical counterparts. For that, it is necessary to (i) develop theoretical tools and experimental set-ups to deal…
We discuss an approach to determine averages of the work, dissipated heat and variation of internal energy of an open quantum system driven by an external classical field. These quantities are measured by coupling the quantum system to a…