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A unified $\chi$-criterion for heat devices (including heat engines and refrigerators) which is defined as the product of the energy conversion efficiency and the heat absorbed per unit time by the working substance [de Tom\'{a}s \emph{et…
A long standing open problem whether a heat engine with finite power achieves the Carnot efficiency is investigated. We rigorously prove a general trade-off inequality on thermodynamic efficiency and time interval of a cyclic process with…
We study a refrigerator model which consists of two $n$-level systems interacting via a pulsed external field. Each system couples to its own thermal bath at temperatures $T_h$ and $T_c$, respectively ($\theta\equiv T_c/T_h<1$). The…
We consider a quantum Otto cycle operating between two squeezed thermal reservoirs. The influences of the squeezing degree on the optimization performance of quantum Otto heat engines and refrigerators are investigated. We demonstrate that…
Based on a quantum thermodynamic protocol for shortcut to isothermality that smoothly modify the system-reservoir interaction can significantly speed up an isothermal process while keeping the overall dissipation constant [Phys. Rev. X. 10,…
In this Letter, we show thermoelectric conversion efficiency is \emph{exactly} determined by \emph{three} independent material parameters $Z_{\rm gen}$, $\tau$, and $\beta$. Each parameter is a figure of merit hence improving $\tau$ or…
The second law of thermodynamics constrains that the efficiency of heat engines, classical or quantum, cannot be greater than the universal Carnot efficiency. We discover another bound for the efficiency of a quantum Otto heat engine…
A famous paper [Am. J. Phys. 43, 22 (1975)] unveiled the efficiency at maximum power (EMP) of the endo-reversible Carnot heat engine, now commonly referred to as the Curzon-Ahlborn (CA) engine, pioneering finite-time thermodynamics.…
The efficiency at maximum power output of linear irreversible Carnot-like heat engines is investigated based on the assumption that the rate of irreversible entropy production of working substance in each "isothermal" process is a quadratic…
Stochastic thermodynamics has revolutionized our understanding of heat engines operating in finite time. Recently, numerous studies have considered the optimal operation of thermodynamic cycles acting as heat engines with a given profile in…
The Carnot theorem, one expression of the second law of thermodynamics, places a fundamental upper bound on the efficiency of heat engines operating between two heat baths. The Carnot theorem can be stated in a more generalized form for…
The efficiency of an heat engine is traditionally defined as the ratio of its average output work over its average input heat. Its highest possible value was discovered by Carnot in 1824 and is a cornerstone concept in thermodynamics. It…
We identify the operational conditions for maximum power of a nanothermoelectric engine consisting of a single quantum level embedded between two leads at different temperatures and chemical potentials. The corresponding thermodynamic…
Despite its idealizations, thermodynamics has proven its power as a predictive theory for practical applications. In particular, the Curzon-Ahlborn efficiency provides a benchmark for any real engine operating at maximal power. Here we…
In a stochastic heat engine driven by a cyclic non-equilibrium protocol, fluctuations in work and heat give rise to a fluctuating efficiency. Using computer simulations and tools from large deviation theory, we have examined these…
Understanding the fundamental limits of various energy conversion approaches is essential for assessing their efficiency and power output. In this work, we derive general performance bounds for thermoradiative heat engines that exchange…
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…
Accurate measurement of efficiency for thermoelectric generator (TEG) is of great importance for materials research and development. Approximately all the parameters of a material are temperature dependent, so we can't directly apply the…
Given a system with a finite heat capacity and a heat reservoir, and two values of initial temperatures, $T_+$ and $T_- (< T_+)$, we enquire, in which case the optimal work extraction is larger: when the reservoir is an infinite source at…
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…