Related papers: Thermal Motors with Enhanced Performance due to En…
Thermoelectric generators are particularly suitable to investigate the irreversible processes which govern the coupled transport of matter and heat in solid-state systems. We study the efficiency at maximum power in the strong coupling…
Exceptional points (EPs), branch singularities parameter space of non-Hermitian eigenvalue manifolds, display unique topological phenomena linked to eigenvalue and eigenvector switching: the parameter space states are highly sensitive to…
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 the system composed of a gyrotropic particle out of thermal equilibrium with vacuum can be regarded as a heat engine. Such a particle, initially at rest, will experience a fluctuation-induced torque and start to rotate,…
Pure spin currents are shown to be generated by an electrically controlled quantum pump applied at the edges of a topological insulator. The electric rather than the more conventional magnetic control offers several advantages and avoids,…
Efficient heat management at cryogenic temperatures is crucial for superconducting quantum technologies. This study demonstrates the controlled manipulation of the heat flow and heat rectification through an asymmetric superconducting…
Non-Hermitian physics and topological phenomena are two hot topics attracted much attention in condensed matter physics and artificial metamaterials. Thermal metamaterials are one type of metamaterials that can manipulate heat on one's own.…
Emergence, optimization and stability of a motor-like motion in a fluctuating environment are analyzed. The emergence of motion is shown to be a general phenomenon. A motor converges to the state with the minimum of effective temperature…
There are few exact results on optimal power conditions for a thermoelectric generator in the presence of both external and internal irreversibilities---modelled as non-ideal thermal contacts and Joule heating, respectively. Simplified…
Active matter constantly dissipates energy to power the self-propulsion of its microscopic constituents. This opens the door to designing innovative cyclic engines without any equilibrium equivalent. We offer a consistent thermodynamic…
Brownian particles interacting sequentially with distinct temperatures and driving forces at each stroke have been tackled as a reliable alternative for the construction of engine setups. However they can behave very inefficiently depending…
I propose a design strategy to enhance the performance of heat engine via absorption of thermal energy from the channel region. The absorption of thermal energy can be actuated by inelastic processes and may be accomplished by an energy…
The efficiency at maximum power (EMP) of heat engines operating as generators is one corner stone of finite-time thermodynamics, the Curzon-Ahlborn efficiency $\eta_{\rm CA}$ being considered as a universal upper bound. Yet, no valid…
Exceptional points (EPs), singularities of non-Hermitian physics where complex spectral resonances degenerate, are one of the most exotic features of nonequilibrium open systems with unique properties. For instance, the emission rate of…
Optimal (reversible) processes in thermodynamics can be modelled as step-by-step processes, where the system is successively thermalized with respect to different Hamiltonians by an external thermal bath. However, in practice interactions…
Brownian particles placed sequentially in contact with distinct thermal reservoirs and subjected to external driving forces are promising candidates for the construction of reliable thermal engines. In this contribution, we address the role…
In this work we study how the non-Markovian character of the dynamics can affect the thermodynamic performance of a quantum thermal engine, by analysing the maximum power output of Carnot and Otto cycles departing from the quasi-static and…
Thermal conduction has been suggested as a possible mechanism by which sufficient extra heating is provided in radiation-dominated accretion flows. We consider the extreme case in which the generated energy due to the viscosity and the…
Describing the thermodynamic properties of quantum systems far from equilibrium is challenging, in particular when the system is strongly coupled to its environment, or when memory effects cannot be neglected. Here, we address such regimes…
The Carnot engine sets an upper limit to the efficiency of a practical heat engine. An arbitrary irreversible engine is sometimes believed to behave closely as the Curzon-Ahlborn engine. Efficiency of the latter is obtained commonly by…