Related papers: Ultra-cold Single-Atom Quantum Heat Engines
Thermodynamic constraints impose a trade-off between power and efficiency in heat engines, preventing the simultaneous achievement of high power and high efficiency. For classical microscopic engines, explicit inequalities have been…
We consider a quantum Otto-type heat engine constructed in an optomechanical system with which the cavity is chosen as the working substance. The cavity can effectively be coupled with hot thermal baths in nonequilibrium steady-states via…
The finite time operation of a quantum Otto heat engine leads to a trade-off between efficiency and output power, which is due to the deviation of the system from the adiabatic path. This trade-off caveat can be bypassed by using the…
Relativistic quantum systems exhibit unique features not present at lower energies, such as the existence of both particles and antiparticles, and restrictions placed on the system dynamics due to the light cone. In order to understand what…
We propose the use of a quantum thermal machine for low-temperature thermometry. A hot thermal reservoir coupled to the machine allows for simultaneously cooling the sample while determining its temperature without knowing the…
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 demonstrate how a quantum Otto engine (QOE) can be implemented using a single ion and an always-on thermal environment. The internal degree of freedom of the ion is chosen as the working fluid, while the motional degree of freedom can be…
We introduce both a theoretical and an experimental scheme for simulating a quantum thermal engine through an all-optical approach, with the behavior of the working substance and the thermal reservoirs implemented via internal degrees of…
In this paper we study a quantum Otto thermal machine where the working substance is composed of N identical qubits coupled to a single mode of a bosonic field, where the atoms and the field interact with a reservoir, as described by the…
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 study the efficiency of a simple quantum dot heat engine at maximum power. In contrast to the quasi-statically operated Carnot engine whose efficiency reaches the theoretical maximum, recent research on more realistic engines operated in…
We study the performances of an imperfect quantum many-body Otto engine based on free-fermion systems. Starting from the thermodynamic definitions of heat and work along ideal isothermal, adiabatic, and isochoric transformations, we…
Cyclical heat engines are a paradigm of classical thermodynamics, but are impractical for miniaturization because they rely on moving parts. A more recent concept is particle-exchange (PE) heat engines, which uses energy filtering to…
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…
Since its inception about two centuries ago thermodynamics has sparkled continuous interest and fundamental questions. According to the second law no heat engine can have an efficiency larger than Carnot's efficiency. The latter can be…
Quantum heat engines are subjected to quantum fluctuations related to their discrete energy spectra. Such fluctuations question the reliable operation of quantum engines in the microscopic realm. We here realize an endoreversible quantum…
In this letter, we analyze a conceptual design for the operation of an Otto cycle heat machine driven by adiabatic modifications on the electronic effective mass. Such tailoring of it can be implemented, for instance, via the application of…
To optimize the performance of a heat engine in finite-time cycle, it is important to understand the finite-time effect of thermodynamic processes. Previously, we have shown that extra work is needed to complete a quantum adiabatic process…
Sadi Carnot's theorem regarding the maximum efficiency of heat engines is considered to be of fundamental importance in thermodynamics. This theorem famously states that the maximum efficiency depends only on the temperature of the heat…
We study the unitary time evolution of a simple quantum Hamiltonian describing a heat engine coupled to two heat baths. The engine is modeled as a three-level system. Each heat bath consists of a single harmonic oscillator. The engine is…