Related papers: Autonomous implementation of thermodynamic cycles …
Self-oscillation is a phenomenon studied across many scientific disciplines, including the engineering of efficient heat engines and electric generators. We investigate the single electron shuttle, a model nano-scale system that exhibits a…
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…
We propose and analyse an autonomous engine, which combines ideas from electronic transport and self-oscillating heat engines. It is based on the electron-shuttling mechanism in conjunction with a rotational degree of freedom. We focus in…
We consider an isolated autonomous quantum machine, where an explicit quantum clock is responsible for performing all transformations on an arbitrary quantum system (the engine), via a time-independent Hamiltonian. In a general context, we…
Quantifying energy flows at nanometer scales promises to guide future research in a variety of disciplines, from microscopic control and manipulation, to autonomously operating molecular machines. A general understanding of the…
Traditional quantum thermodynamic frameworks associate work to energy exchanges induced by unitary transformations generated by external controls, and heat to energy exchanges induced by bath interaction. Recently, a framework was…
We analyze a steady-state thermoelectric engine, whose working substance consists of two capacitively coupled quantum dots. One dot is tunnel-coupled to a hot reservoir serving as a heat source, the other one to two electrically biased…
Quantum heat engines provide attractive means in quantum thermodynamics for studying the fundamentals of the flow of heat and work. Previous experimental implementations of heat engines operating at the level of a few excitation quanta have…
We propose a new type of quantum thermodynamic cycle whose efficiency is greater than the one of the classical Carnot cycle for the same conditions for a system when viewed as homogeneous. In our model this type of cycle only exists in the…
The reversible nature of thermodynamical cycles is an idealisation based on the assumption of perfect quasi-static dynamics. As a consequence of this assumption, ideal engines operate at the maximum efficiency but have zero power. Realistic…
The autonomous heat engine is a model system of autonomous nonequilibrium systems like biological cells, exploiting nonequilibrium flow for operations. As the Carnot engine has essentially contributed to the equilibrium thermodynamics,…
Thermodynamic probes can be used to deduce microscopic internal dynamics of nanoscale quantum systems. Several direct entropy measurement protocols based on charge transport measurements have been proposed and experimentally applied to…
There are both practical and foundational motivations to consider the thermodynamics of quantum systems at small scales. Here we address the issue of autonomous quantum thermal machines that are tailored to achieve some specific…
A nanoscale-sized Stirling engine with an atomistic working fluid has been modeled using molecular dynamics simulation. The design includes heat exchangers based on thermostats, pistons attached to a flywheel under load, and a regenerator.…
The investigation of optimal processes has a long history in the field of thermodynamics. It is well known that finite-time processes that minimize dissipation often exhibit discontinuities. We use a combination of numerical and analytical…
On the assumption that experimentally validated tabulated thermodynamic properties of saturated fluids published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology are accurate, a theoretical thermodynamic cycle can be demonstrated that…
The minimal set of thermodynamic control parameters consists of a statistical (thermal) and a mechanical one. These suffice to introduce all the pertinent thermodynamic variables; thermodynamic processes can then be defined as paths on this…
Quantum thermodynamics is a powerful theoretical tool for assessing the suitability of quantum materials as platforms for novel technologies. In particular, the modeling of quantum cycles allows us to investigate the heat changes and work…
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…
The triumph of heat engines is their ability to convert the disordered energy of thermal sources into useful mechanical motion. In recent years, much effort has been devoted to generalizing thermodynamic notions to the quantum regime,…