Related papers: Quantum finite-time thermodynamics: insight from a…
The quantum heat engines have drawn much attention due to miniaturization of devices recently. We study the dynamics of the quantum Otto heat engine using the driven-dissipative Schr\"{o}dinger equation. Starting from different initial…
We set up a framework for quantum stochastic thermodynamics based solely on experimentally controllable, but otherwise arbitrary interventions at discrete times. Using standard assumptions about the system-bath dynamics and insights from…
A short introduction on quantum thermodynamics is given and three new topics are discussed: 1) Maximal work extraction from a finite quantum system. The thermodynamic prediction fails and a new, general result is derived, the ``ergotropy''.…
We theoretically explore the finite-time performance of a quantum thermochemical engine using a harmonically trapped 1D Bose gas in the quasicondensate regime as the working fluid. Operating on an Otto cycle, the engine's unitary work…
The concept of internal friction, a fully quantum mechanical phenomena, is investigated in a simple, experimentally accessible quantum system in which a spin-1/2 is driven by a transverse magnetic field in a quantum adiabatic process. The…
The relationship between thermodynamics and statistical physics is valid in the thermodynamic limit - when the number of particles becomes very large. Here, we study thermodynamics in the opposite regime - at both the nano scale, and when…
Quantum many-body systems out of equilibrium can host intriguing phenomena such as transitions to exotic dynamical states. Although this emergent behaviour can be observed in experiments, its potential for technological applications is…
The heat engine, a machine that extracts useful work from thermal sources, is one of the basic theoretical constructs and fundamental applications of classical thermodynamics. The classical description of a heat engine does not include…
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…
According to the Second Law of thermodynamics, the evolution of physical systems has a preferred direction, that is characterized by some positive entropy production. Here we propose a direct way to measure the stochastic entropy produced…
We consider a class of quantum heat engines consisting of two subsystems interacting via a unitary transformation and coupled to two separate baths at different temperatures $T_h > T_c$. The purpose of the engine is to extract work due to…
Some of the oldest and most important applications of thermodynamics are operations of refrigeration as well as production of useful energy. Part of the efforts to understand and develop thermodynamics in the quantum regime have been…
We consider two specific thermodynamic cycles of engine operating in a finite time coupled to two thermal reservoirs with a finite heat capacity: The Carnot-type cycle and the Lorenz-type cycle. By means of the endo-reversible…
The minimal-coupling quantum heat engine is a thermal machine consisting of an explicit energy storage system, heat baths, and a working body, which alternatively couples to subsystems through discrete strokes -- energy-conserving two-body…
Frauchiger and Renner recently cast doubt on the universal applicability of Quantum Mechanics [1]. In the following, it is pointed out that their conclusion of one of three common-sense conditions, demanded for Quantum Mechanics, being…
In this study, we explore a relativistic quantum Otto heat engine with a qutrit as the working substance interacting with a quantum scalar field in curved spacetime. Unlike qubits, which extract work by simply expanding or shrinking a…
In classical physics, clocks are open dissipative systems driven from thermal equilibrium and necessarily subject to thermal noise. We describe a quantum clock driven by entropy reduction through measurement. The mechanism consists of a…
Cyclic classical and quantum thermal machines show higher efficiency when the strokes are carried out quasi-statically. Recent theoretical and experimental work on figures of merit for thermal machines show that they have an advantage when…
We analyze an autonomous micro-engine as a closed quantum mechanical system, including the work it performs and the fuel it consumes. Our model system shows by example that it is possible to transfer energy steadily and spontaneously…
Continuous particle exchange thermal machines require no time-dependent driving, can be realised in solid-state electronic devices, and miniaturised to nanometre scale. Quantum dots, providing a narrow energy filter and allowing to…