Related papers: Optimal thermodynamic control in open quantum syst…
We present a quantum Otto engine model consisting of two isochoric and two adiabatic strokes, where the adiabatic expansion or compression is realized by adiabatically changing the shape of the potential. Here we show that such an adiabatic…
A quantum dot driven by two ac gate potentials oscillating with a phase lag may be regarded as a quantum engine, where energy is transported and dissipated in the form of heat. In this chapter we introduce a microscopic model for a quantum…
We present a rigorous approach, based on the concept of continuous thermomajorisation, to algorithmically characterise the full set of energy occupations of a quantum system accessible from a given initial state through weak interactions…
We present an approach based on a density matrix expansion to study thermodynamic properties of a quantum system strongly coupled to two or more baths. For slow external driving of the system, we identify the adiabatic and nonadiabatic…
Thermodynamics plays an important role both in the foundations of physics and in technological applications. An operational perspective adopted in recent years is to formulate it as a quantum resource theory. At the core of this theory is…
The Q-cycle mechanism entering the electron and proton transport chain in oxygenic photosynthesis is an example of how biological processes can be efficiently investigated with elementary microscopic models. Here we address the problem of…
Optical pump-probe signals can be viewed as work done by the matter while transferring the energy between two coherent baths (from pump to probe). In thermodynamics a heat engine, such as laser, is a device which performs similar work but…
In this paper, we identify a class of time-varying port-Hamiltonian systems that is suitable for studying problems at the intersection of statistical mechanics and control of physical systems. Those port-Hamiltonian systems are able to…
Quantum many-body systems present substantial technical challenges from both analytical and numerical perspectives. Despite these difficulties, some progress has been made, including studies of interacting atomic gases and interacting…
Optimal control theory is a promising candidate for a drastic improvement of the performance of quantum information tasks. We explore its ultimate limit in paradigmatic cases, and demonstrate that it coincides with the maximum speed limit…
Optimal engine performances are accomplished by quantum effects. Here we explore two routes towards ideal engines, namely (1) quantum systems that operate as hybrid machines being able to perform more than one useful task and (2) the…
A quantum engine with n qubits performing thermodynamic cycles with two thermal reservoirs is presented. While such constructions have been aplenty, here we show the existence of what we term as "limit cycle" at a purely quantum level of…
In various physical implementations of quantum information processing, qubits are realized in a Lambda type system configuration as two stable lower energy levels coupled indirectly via an unstable higher energy level, that is, in…
The quantum analog of Carnot cycles in few-particle systems consists of two quantum adiabatic steps and two isothermal steps. This construction is formally justified by use of a minimum work principle. It is then shown, without relying on…
Modeling quantum thermal machines provides a practical approach to describing the thermodynamic properties of quantum technologies and devices. For this purpose, power-law potentials are often employed as working mediums of quantum…
Quantum heat engines are modeled by thermodynamic cycles with quantum-mechanical working media. Since high engine efficiencies require adiabaticity, a major challenge is to yield a nonvanishing power output at finite cycle times. Shortcuts…
Refrigerators use a thermodynamic cycle to move thermal energy from a cold reservoir to a hot one. Implementing this operation principle with mesoscopic components has recently emerged as a promising strategy to control heat currents in…
We present a mechanism for efficiency increase in quantum heat engines containing internal energy levels that do not couple to the external work sink. The gain is achieved by using these levels to channel heat in a direction opposite to the…
Information processing, quantum or classical, relies on channels transforming multiple input states to different corresponding outputs. Previous research has established bounds on the thermodynamic resources required for such operations,…
In this paper, we summarize the historical development of finite-time thermodynamics and review the current state of research over the past two decades in this field, focusing on fundamental constraints of finite-time thermodynamic cycles,…