Related papers: Autonomous quantum rotator
In traditional thermodynamics the Carnot cycle yields the ideal performance bound of heat engines and refrigerators. We propose and analyze a minimal model of a heat machine that can play a similar role in quantum regimes. The minimal model…
The rate of temperature decrease of a cooled quantum bath is studied as its temperature is reduced to the absolute zero. The III-law of thermodynamics is then quantified dynamically by evaluating the characteristic exponent {\zeta} of the…
We introduce a model of an active quantum particle and discuss its properties. The particle has a set of internal states that mediate exchanges of heat with external reservoirs. Heat is then converted into motion by means of a spin-orbit…
A quasi-static process is realized in a purely quantum-mechanical model which is described by oscillator (or particle) systems having relative-phase interactions. Time development of a mixture of two oscillator (or particle) systems which…
The free energy of a quantum oscillator in an arbitrary heat bath at a temperature T is given by a "remarkable formula" which involves only a single integral. This leads to a corresponding simple result for the entropy. The low temperature…
Quantum heat engines employ as working agents multi-level systems instead of gas-filled cylinders. We consider particularly two-level agents such as electrons immersed in a magnetic field. Work is produced in that case when the electrons…
We discuss whether, and under which conditions, it is possible to realize a heat engine simply by dynamically modulating the couplings between the quantum working medium and thermal reservoirs. For that purpose, we consider the paradigmatic…
We propose a quantum heat transformer (QHT), a quantum thermodynamic device that modulates temperature gradients between two thermal junctions in quantum systems. Functionally, the QHT is analogous to classical absorption heat transformers…
We propose a quantum Otto cycle based on the properties of a two-level system in a realistic out-of-thermal-equilibrium electromagnetic field acting as its sole reservoir. This steady configuration is produced without the need of active…
For a machine to be useful in practice, it preferably has to meet two requirements: namely, (i) to be able to perform work under a load and (ii) its operational regime should ideally not depend on the time at which the machine is…
The concept of thermal machines has evolved from the canonical steam engine to the recently proposed nanoscopic quantum systems as working fluids. The latter obey quantum open system dynamics and frequently operate in non-equilibrium…
We demonstrate that when a quantum dot is embedded between the two reservoirs described by different statistical distribution functions, the reverse flow and amplification of heat can be realized by regulating the energy levels of the…
A stationary body that is out of thermal equilibrium with its environment, and for which the electric susceptibility is non-reciprocal, experiences a quantum torque. This arises from the spatially non-symmetric electrical response of the…
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 quantum thermal machine composed of two nanomechanical resonators (NMR) (two membranes suspended over a trench in a substrate), placed a few $\mu$m from each other. The quantum thermodynamical cycle is powered by the Casimir…
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 investigate the local thermal transport in a quantum trimer of harmonic oscillators connected to two thermal baths. The coupling between them are augmented by complex phases which leads to the quantum control of the local atypical heat…
The angular momentum of molecules, or, equivalently, their rotation in three-dimensional space, is ideally suited for quantum control. Molecular angular momentum is naturally quantized, time evolution is governed by a well-known Hamiltonian…
Although classical thermal machines power industries and modern living, quantum thermal engines have yet to prove their utility. Here, we demonstrate a useful quantum absorption refrigerator formed from superconducting circuits. We use it…
With the development of quantum thermodynamics it has been shown that relaxation to thermal equilibrium and with it the concept of heat flux may emerge directly from quantum mechanics. This happens for a large class of quantum systems if…