Related papers: Quantum thermodynamics with local control
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…
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 the performance of periodically driven stochastic heat engines in the linear response regime. Reaching the theoretical bounds for efficiency and efficiency at maximum power typically requires full control over the design and the…
We investigate the efficiency of a quantum Carnot engine based on open quantum dynamics theory. The model includes time-dependent external fields for the subsystems controlling the isothermal and isentropic processes and for the…
Whether the strong coupling to thermal baths can improve the performance of quantum thermal machines remains an open issue under active debate. Here, we revisit quantum thermal machines operating with the quasi-static Carnot cycle and aim…
The relationship between thermodynamics and statistical physics is valid in the thermodynamic limit - when the number of particles becomes very large. Here, we study thermodynamics in the opposite regime - at both the nano scale, and when…
The thermodynamics of quantum systems coupled to periodically modulated heat baths and work reservoirs is developed. By identifying affinities and fluxes, the first and second law are formulated consistently. In the linear response regime,…
Cooling of a quantum system is limited by the size of the control forces that are available (the "speed" of control). We consider the most general cooling process, albeit restricted to the regime in which the thermodynamics of the system is…
Dealing with a generic time-local non-Markovian master equation, we define current and power to be process-dependent as in classical thermodynamics. Each process is characterized by a symmetry transformation, a gauge of the master equation,…
We demonstrate the effectiveness of quantum optimal control techniques in harnessing irreversibility generated by non-equilibrium processes, implemented in unitarily evolving quantum many-body systems. We address the dynamics of a…
The laws of thermodynamics put limits to the efficiencies of thermal machines. Analogues of these laws are now established for quantum engines weakly and passively coupled to the environment providing a framework to find improvements to…
A heat engine operating in the one-shot finite-size regime, where systems composed of a small number of quantum particles interact with hot and cold baths and are restricted to one-shot measurements, delivers fluctuating work. Further,…
Heat and work in thermodynamics refer to the measurement of changes in energy content of external bodies (baths and agents). We discuss the implications of quantum mechanics on the possibility to measure work in a mesoscopic context. The…
The emergence of irreversibility in physical processes, despite the fundamentally reversible nature of quantum mechanics, remains an open question in physics. This thesis explores the intricate relationship between quantum mechanics and…
Motivated by the recent interest in thermodynamics of micro- and mesoscopic quantum systems we study the maximal amount of work that can be reversibly extracted from a quantum system used to store temporarily energy. Guided by the notion of…
One of the principal objectives of quantum thermodynamics is to explore quantum effects and their potential beneficial role in thermodynamic tasks like work extraction or refrigeration. So far, even though several papers have already shown…
Technological and scientific advances have given rise to an era in which coherent quantum-mechanical phenomena can be probed and experimentally-realised over unprecedented timescales in condensed matter physics. In turn, scientific interest…
Quantum thermodynamics allows for the interconversion of quantum coherence and mechanical work. Quantum coherence is thus a potential physical resource for quantum machines. However, formulating a general nonequilibrium thermodynamics of…
We study a thermal engine model for which Newton's cooling law is obeyed during heat transfer processes. The thermal efficiency and its bounds at maximum output power are derived and discussed. This model, though quite simple, can be…
We study the ultimate bounds on the estimation of temperature for an interacting quantum system. We consider two coupled bosonic modes that are assumed to be thermal and using quantum estimation theory establish the role the Hamiltonian…