Related papers: A single-atom heat engine

We analyze the performance of a quantum Otto cycle, employing time-dependent harmonic oscillator as the working fluid undergoing sudden expansion and compression strokes during the adiabatic stages, coupled to a squeezed reservoir. First,…

We investigate a stochastic heat engine based on an over-damped particle diffusing on the positive real axis in an externally driven time-periodic log-harmonic potential. The periodic driving is composed of two isothermal and two adiabatic…

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…

The realization of microscopic heat engines has gained a surge of research interest in statistical physics, soft matter, and biological physics. A typical microscopic heat engine employs a colloidal particle trapped in a confining…

We studied the efficiency of two different schemes for a quantum heat engine, by considering a single Dirac particle trapped in an infinite one-dimensional potential well as the "working substance." The first scheme is a cycle, composed of…

We introduce a class of stochastic engines in which the regime of units operating synchronously can boost the performance. Our approach encompasses a minimal setup composed of $N$ interacting units placed in contact with two thermal baths…

We propose and demonstrate an experimental scheme to engineer thermal baths with independently tunable temperatures and dissipation rates for the motional modes of a trapped-ion system. This approach enables robust thermal-state preparation…

When do non-equilibrium forms of disordered energy qualify as heat? \textcolor{blue}{We address this question in the context of cyclically operating heat engines in contact with a non-equilibrium energy reservoir that defies the zeroth law…

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…

In this work, we analyze an Otto-type cycle operating with a working substance composed of a quantum harmonic oscillator (QHO). Unlike other studies in which the work extraction is done by varying the frequency of the QHO and letting it…

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 propose a scheme for a quantum thermal machine made by atoms interacting with a single non-equilibrium electromagnetic field. The field is produced by a simple configuration of macroscopic objects held at thermal equilibrium at different…

Heat engines provide most of our mechanical power and are essential for transportation on macroscopic scale. However, although significant progress has been made in the miniaturization of electrostatic engines, it has proven difficult to…

We discuss the efficiency of a heat engine operating in a nonequilibrium steady state maintained by two heat reservoirs. Within the general framework of linear irreversible thermodynamics we derive a universal upper bound on the efficiency…

While strong system-bath coupling produces rich and interesting phenomena, applications to quantum thermal engines have been so far pointing mainly at detrimental effects. The delicate trade-off between efficiency loss due to strong…

Laser cooled ions trapped in a linear Paul trap are long-standing ideal candidates for realizing quantum simulation, especially of many-body systems. The properties that contribute to this also provide the opportunity to demonstrate…

We apply advanced methods of control theory to open quantum systems and we determine finite-time processes which are optimal with respect to thermodynamic performances. General properties and necessary conditions characterizing optimal…

We consider two modifications of a recently proposed three-terminal quantum dot heat engine. First, we investigate the necessity of the thermalization assumption, namely that electrons are always thermalized by inelastic processes when…

We propose a recipe for demonstrating an autonomous quantum heat engine where the working fluid consists of a harmonic oscillator, the frequency of which is tuned by a driving mode. The working fluid is coupled two heat reservoirs each…

The heat engine, a machine that extracts useful work from thermal sources, is one of the basic theoretical constructs and fundamental applications of classical thermodynamics. The classical description of a heat engine does not include…