Related papers: Periodically refreshed quantum thermal machines
Theoretical treatments of periodically-driven quantum thermal machines (PD-QTMs) are largely focused on the limit-cycle stage of operation characterized by a periodic state of the system. Yet, this regime is not immediately accessible for…
Obtaining dynamics of an interacting quantum many-body system connected to multiple baths initially at different, finite, temperatures and chemical potentials is a challenging problem. This is due to a combination of the prevalence of…
A cyclic thermodynamic heat engine runs most efficiently if it is reversible. Carnot constructed such a reversible heat engine by combining adiabatic and isothermal processes for a system containing an ideal gas. Here, we present an example…
Driving a quantum system across quantum critical points leads to non-adiabatic excitations in the system. This in turn may adversely affect the functioning of a quantum machine which uses a quantum critical substance as its working medium.…
The emergence of irreversibility in physical processes, despite the fundamentally reversible nature of quantum mechanics, remains an open question in physics. This thesis explores the intricate relationship between quantum mechanics and…
In this review the debated rapport between thermodynamics and quantum mechanics is addressed in the framework of the theory of periodically-driven/controlled quantum-thermodynamic machines. The basic model studied here is that of a…
In a PRL [1], the authors claim to show that "the Clausius inequality can be violated, and that it is even possible to extract work from a thermal bath by cyclic variations of a parameter ("perpetuum mobile"), and that the physical cause…
Steady-state quantum thermal machines are typically characterized by a continuous flow of heat between different reservoirs. However, at the level of discrete stochastic realizations, heat flow is unraveled as a series of abrupt quantum…
We propose a scheme for a quantum thermal machine made by atoms interacting with a single non-equilibrium electromagnetic field. The field is produced by a simple configuration of macroscopic objects held at thermal equilibrium at different…
Conversion of chemical energy into mechanical work is the fundamental mechanism of several natural phenomena at the nanoscale, like molecular machines and Brownian motors. Quantum mechanical effects are relevant for optimising these…
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…
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…
We use fast periodic control to realize finite-time Otto cycles exhibiting quantum advantage. Such periodic modulation of the working medium - bath interaction Hamiltonian during the thermalization strokes can give rise to non-Markovian…
It is a central question in quantum thermodynamics to determine how irreversible is a process that transforms an initial state $\rho$ to a final state $\sigma$, and whether such irreversibility can be thought of as a useful resource. For…
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…
Quantum heat engines are subjected to quantum fluctuations related to their discrete energy spectra. Such fluctuations question the reliable operation of quantum engines in the microscopic realm. We here realize an endoreversible quantum…
Based on quantum thermodynamic processes, we make a quantum-mechanical (QM) extension of the typical heat engine cycles, such as the Carnot, Brayton, Otto, and Diesel cycles, etc. The temperature is not included in these QM engine cycles,…
A procedure to find optimal regimes for quantum thermal engines (QTMs) is described and demonstrated. The QTMs are modelled as the periodically-driven non-equilibrium steady states of open quantum systems, whose dynamics is approximated in…
Non-equilibrium effects may have a profound impact on the performance of thermal devices performing thermodynamic tasks such as refrigeration or heat pumping. The possibility of enhancing the performance of thermodynamic operations by means…
One of the principal objectives of quantum thermodynamics is to explore quantum effects and their potential beneficial role in thermodynamic tasks like work extraction or refrigeration. So far, even though several papers have already shown…