Related papers: Quantum jump approach to microscopic heat engines
We obtain an analytical expression for the heat current between two overdamped quantum oscillators interacting with local thermal baths at different temperatures. The total heat current is split into classical and quantum contributions. We…
We propose a quantum heat engine based on a quadratically coupled optomechanical system. The optical component of the system is driven periodically with an incoherent thermal drive, which induces periodic oscillations in the mechanical…
Heat capacities of model systems with finite numbers of effective degrees of freedom are evaluated using canonical and microcanonical thermodynamics. Discrepancies between both approaches, which are observed even in the infinite-size limit,…
Allowing the order of quantum operations to exist in superposition is known to open new routes for thermodynamic tasks. We investigate a quantum heat engine where energy exchanges are driven by generalized measurements, and the sequence of…
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…
We discuss the application of techniques of quantum estimation theory and quantum metrology to thermometry. The ultimate limit to the precision at which the temperature of a system at thermal equilibrium can be determined is related to the…
Thermodynamics is a branch of science blessed by an unparalleled combination of generality of scope and formal simplicity. Based on few natural assumptions together with the four laws, it sets the boundaries between possible and impossible…
We take the perspective of open quantum systems and examine from their nonequilibrium dynamics the conditions when the physical quantities, their relations and the laws of thermodynamics become well defined and viable for quantum many body…
Quantum physics revolutionized classical disciplines of mechanics, statistical physics, and electrodynamics. One branch of scientific knowledge however seems untouched: thermodynamics. Major motivation behind thermodynamics is to develop…
We first use the quantum method to replicate the well-known results of a single atom relaxing, whilst demonstrating the intuitive picture it provides for dissipative dynamics. By use of individual "quantum trajectories", the method allows…
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…
Heat is a physical manifestation of entropy, where the removal of entropy from a thermal energy reservoir permits the conversion of heat into work. This entropy transfer is facilitated by the cold thermal energy reservoir in typical heat…
Giving a universal upper bound on the power output of heat engines is a long-standing open problem. We tackle this problem for generic quantum machines in self-contained formulation by carefully including the switching process of the…
The treatment of quantum thermodynamic systems beyond weak coupling is of increasing relevance, yet extremely challenging. The evaluation of thermodynamic quantities in strong-coupling regimes requires a nonperturbative knowledge of the…
We propose a novel type of quantum heat engine based on the ultrafast dynamical control of the magnetic properties of a nano-scale working body. The working principle relies on nonlinear phononics, an example for dynamical materials design.…
Quantum control of an open system is demonstrated employing a thermodynamically consistent master equation. In this framework, the open system dynamics depend on the control protocol due to the dressing of the system by the drive. This…
The performances of quantum thermometry in thermal equilibrium together with the output power of certain class of quantum engines share a common characteristic: both are determined by the heat capacity of the probe or working medium. After…
We present a measurement-based quantum thermal machine that extracts work from the back-action of generalized quantum measurements whose working medium is a coupled two-level quantum system. Specifically, we derive universal optimization…
We construct a quantum critical Otto engine that is powered by finite temperature baths. We show that the work output of the engine shows universal power law behavior that depends on the critical exponents of the working medium, as well as…
We introduce a universal scheme to divide the power output of a periodically driven quantum heat engine into a classical contribution and one stemming solely from quantum coherence. Specializing to Lindblad-dynamics and small driving…