Related papers: Collective effects enhancing power and efficiency

Thermoelectric energy conversion is a direct but low-efficiency process, which precludes the development of long-awaited wide-scale applications. As a breakthrough permitting a drastic performance increase is seemingly out of reach, we…

We proposed a new mechanism of LENR: cooperative processes in whole system -- nuclei+atoms+condensed matter can occur at smaller threshold energies then corresponding ones on free constituents. The cooperative processes can be induced and…

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…

Combining the predictions of collections of neural networks often outperforms the best single network. Such ensembles are typically trained independently, and their superior `wisdom of the crowd' originates from the differences between…

This paper proposes a variational approach to describe the evolution of organization of complex systems from first principles, as increased efficiency of physical action. Most simply stated, physical action is the product of the energy and…

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…

Energy system optimization models are becoming increasingly popular for analyzing energy markets, such as the impact of new policies or interactions between energy carriers. One key challenge of these models is the trade-off between…

Advances in solid-state device design now allow the spectrum of transmitted electrons in thermionic and thermoelectric devices to be engineered in ways that were not previously possible. Here we show that the shape of the electron energy…

The power and efficiency of many-body heat engines can be boosted by performing cooperative non-adiabatic operations in contrast to the commonly used adiabatic implementations. Here, the key property relies on the fact that non-adiabaticity…

We investigate the performance of a microscopic quantum heat engine consisting of V- or Lambda-type emitters interacting collectively or independently when being in contact with environmental thermal reservoirs. Though the efficiency of a…

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…

Sustainable energy systems require flexible elements to balance the variability of renewable energy sources. Demand response aims to adapt the demand to the variable generation, in particular by shifting the load in time. In this article,…

The potential effects of conservation actions on threatened species can be predicted using ensemble ecosystem models by forecasting populations with and without intervention. These model ensembles commonly assume stable coexistence of…

Interesting effects arise in cyclic machines where both heat and ergotropy transfer take place between the energising bath and the system (the working fluid). Such effects correspond to unconventional decompositions of energy exchange…

We investigate a thermoelectric nano-engine whose properties are steered by Coulomb interaction. The device whose design decouples charge and energy currents is made up of two interacting quantum dots connected to three different…

Effective field theory is applied to finite-density systems with an unnaturally large scattering length, such as neutron matter. A new organizational scheme is identified and connected with an expansion in inverse powers of the number of…

As engineering advances toward the nanoscale, understanding design principles for molecular motors becomes increasingly valuable. Many molecular motors consist of coupled components transducing one free-energy source into another. Here, we…

Embedding nanostructures within a bulk matrix is an important practical approach towards the electronic engineering of high performance thermoelectric systems. For power generation applications, it ideally combines the efficiency benefit…

Describing the collective activity of neural populations is a daunting task: the number of possible patterns grows exponentially with the number of cells, resulting in practically unlimited complexity. Recent empirical studies, however,…

We propose a generalized model of a heat engine and calculate the minimum and maximum bounds on the efficiency at maximum power. We obtain a universal form of generalized extreme bounds on the efficiency at maximum power. Our model unifies…