Related papers: Efficiency of Single Particle Engines
We develop a perturbation theory of quantum (and classical) master equations with slowly varying parameters, applicable to systems which are externally controlled on a time scale much longer than their characteristic relaxation time. We…
In the standard framework of thermodynamics the work produced or consumed in a process is a random variable whose average value is bounded by the change in the free energy of the system. This work is calculated without regard for the size…
From an entropy-based formulation of the first law of thermodynamics in the quantum regime, we investigate the performance of Otto-like and Carnot-like engines for a single-qubit working medium. Within this framework, the first law includes…
Colloidal heat engines are paradigmatic models to understand the conversion of heat into work in a noisy environment - a domain where biological and synthetic nano/micro machines function. While the operation of these engines across thermal…
Miniaturized heat engines constitutes a fascinating field of current research. They are being studied theoretically as well as experimentally, with experiments involving colloidal particles and harmonic traps and even bacterial baths acting…
We study the maximum efficiency of a Carnot cycle heat engine based on a small system. It is revealed that due to the finiteness of the system, irreversibility may arise when the working substance contacts with a heat bath. As a result,…
This work obtains the efficiency at maximum power for a stochastic heat engine performing Carnot-like, Stirling-like and Ericsson-like cycles. For the mesoscopic engine a Brownian particle trapped by an optical tweezers is considered. The…
When engineering microscopic machines, increasing efficiency can often come at a price of reduced reliability due to the impact of stochastic fluctuations. Here we develop a general method for performing multi-objective optimisation of…
Based on a quantum thermodynamic protocol for shortcut to isothermality that smoothly modify the system-reservoir interaction can significantly speed up an isothermal process while keeping the overall dissipation constant [Phys. Rev. X. 10,…
Thermodynamics places a limit on the efficiency of heat engines, but not on their output power or on how the power and efficiency change with the engine's cycle time. In this manuscript, we develop a geometrical description of the power and…
We consider nano-sized artificial or biological machines working in steady state enforced by imposing non-equilibrium concentrations of solutes or by applying external forces, torques or electric fields. For unicyclic and strongly coupled…
In a recent Letter [EPL, 118 (2017) 40003], Polettini and Esposito claimed that it is theoretically possible for a thermodynamic machine to achieve Carnot efficiency at divergent power output through the use of infinitely-fast processes. It…
We show that for a two-dimensional gas of elastically interacting particles the thermoelectric efficiency reaches the Carnot efficiency in the thermodynamic limit. Numerical simulations, by means of the multi-particle collision dynamics…
We revisit the optimization of performance of finite-time Carnot machines satisfying the low-dissipation assumption. The standard procedure seeks to optimize an objective function, such as power output of the engine, over the durations of…
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…
We consider a finite time quantum heat engine analogous to finite time classical Carnot heat engine with a working substance of spin half particles. We study the efficiency at maximum $\dot{\Omega}$ figure of merit of the quantum heat…
In this work, the relationship between Carnot engine and Szil\'ard engine was discussed. By defining the available information about the temperature difference between two heat reservoirs, the Carnot engine was found to have a same physical…
Pistons are elementary components of a wide variety of thermal engines, allowing to convert input fuel into rotational motion. Here, we propose a single-piston engine where the rotational degree of freedom is effectively realized by the…
Heat engines extract work by running cyclically between two heat reservoirs. When the two reservoirs are thermal and at different temperatures, the maximum efficiency of the engine is given by the Carnot limit. Here we consider a quantum…
In a classic thought experiment, Szilard suggested a heat engine where a single particle, for example an atom or a molecule, is confined in a container coupled to a single heat bath. The container can be separated into two parts by a…