Related papers: Molecular machines operating on nanoscale: from cl…
Recently, a thermal Brownian motor was introduced [Van den Broeck, Kawai and Meurs, Phys. Rev. Lett. (2004)], for which an exact microscopic analysis is possible. The purpose of this paper is to review some further properties of this…
Thermodynamics at the nanoscale is known to differ significantly from its familiar macroscopic counterpart: the possibility of state transitions is not determined by free energy alone, but by an infinite family of free-energy-like…
Properties of transport of molecular motors are investigated. A simplified model based on the concept of Brownian ratchets is applied. We analyze a stochastic equation of motion by means of numerical methods. The transport is systematically…
Active matter constantly dissipates energy to power the self-propulsion of its microscopic constituents. This opens the door to designing innovative cyclic engines without any equilibrium equivalent. We offer a consistent thermodynamic…
Active Brownian engines rectify energy from reservoirs composed of self-propelling non-equilibrium molecules into work. We consider a class of such engines based on an underdamped Brownian particle trapped in a power-law potential. The…
In this article, we briefly review dynamical and thermodynamical aspects of different forms of quantum motors and quantum pumps. We then extend previous results to provide new theoretical tools for a systematic study of those phenomena at…
This work focuses on the response to an external field of a Brownian particle submerged in an Ohmic quantum thermal bath. The field only affects the dynamics of the central particle without affecting the thermal reservoir. The thermodynamic…
We study the non-equilibrium thermodynamics of a single particle with two available energy levels, in contact with a classical (Maxwell-Boltzmann) or quantum (Bose-Einstein) heat bath. The particle can undergo transitions between the levels…
From the steam engine to current nano-devices, the design of efficient thermal machines has been instrumental in modern societies. In its essence a thermal engine can be thought as a working substance, in contact with two or more baths,…
A roughly constant temperature over a wide range of densities is maintained in molecular clouds through radiative heating and cooling. An isothermal equation of state is therefore frequently employed in molecular cloud simulations. However,…
Following the result by Skrzypczyk et al., arXiv:1009.0865, that certain self-contained quantum thermal machines can reach Carnot efficiency, we discuss the functioning of self-contained quantum thermal machines and show, in a very general…
The inexorable miniaturisation of technologies, the relentless drive to improve efficiency and the enticing prospect of boosting performance through quantum effects are all compelling reasons to investigate microscopic machines. Thermal…
Universal properties of efficiency at maximum power are investigated in a general setting. In particular, it is demonstrated how successive symmetries placed upon the dynamics manifest themselves at the macroscopic level. A general…
Quantum thermodynamics is an emerging research field aiming to extend standard thermodynamics and non-equilibrium statistical physics to ensembles of sizes well below the thermodynamic limit, in non-equilibrium situations, and with the full…
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…
Thermally driven nanotube nanomotors provide linear mass transportation controlled by a temperature gradient. However, the underlying mechanism is still unclear where the mass transportation velocity in experiment is much lower than that…
We introduce an alternative route for obtaining reliable cyclic engines, based on interacting Brownian particles under time-periodic drivings. General expressions for the thermodynamic fluxes, such as power and heat, are obtained using the…
We study the statistics of the efficiency in a class of isothermal cyclic machines with realistic coupling between the internal degrees of freedom. We derive, under fairly general assumptions, the probability distribution function for the…
We study the stationary dynamics of an active interacting Brownian particle system. We measure the violations of the fluctuation dissipation theorem, and the corresponding effective temperature, in a locally resolved way. Quite naturally,…
Conversion of chemical energy into mechanical work is the fundamental mechanism of several natural phenomena at the nanoscale, like molecular machines and Brownian motors. Quantum mechanical effects are relevant for optimising these…