Related papers: Rapid optimal work extraction from a quantum-dot i…
Fluctuations strongly affect the dynamics and functionality of nanoscale thermal machines. Recent developments in stochastic thermodynamics have shown that fluctuations in many far-from-equilibrium systems are constrained by the rate of…
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…
We apply advanced methods of control theory to open quantum systems and we determine finite-time processes which are optimal with respect to thermodynamic performances. General properties and necessary conditions characterizing optimal…
Gathering information about a system enables greater control over it. This principle lies at the core of information engines, which use measurement-based feedback to rectify thermal noise and convert information into work. Originating from…
The Szilard engine (SZE) is the quintessence of Maxwell's demon, which can extract the work from a heat bath by utilizing information. We present the first complete quantum analysis of the SZE, and derive an analytic expression of the…
The efficient conversion of thermal energy to mechanical work by a heat engine is an ongoing technological challenge. Since the pioneering work of Carnot, it is known that the efficiency of heat engines is bounded by a fundamental upper…
During the last years there has been an increasing excitement in nanomotors and particularly in current-driven nanomotors. Despite the broad variety of stimulating results found, the regime of strong Coulomb interactions has not been fully…
The thermalization of quark-gluon plasma created in heavy-ion collisions is crucial for understanding its behavior as a relativistic fluid and the thermodynamic properties of the Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). This study investigates the…
With the progress of nano-technology, thermodynamics also has to be scaled down, calling for specific protocols to extract and measure work. Usually, such protocols involve the action of an external, classical field (the battery) of…
Nanoscale machines are strongly influenced by thermal fluctuations, contrary to their macroscopic counterparts. As a consequence, even the efficiency of such microscopic machines becomes a fluctuating random variable. Using geometric…
We study work extraction processes mediated by finite-time interactions with an ambient bath -- \emph{partial thermalizations} -- as continuous time Markov processes for two-level systems. Such a stochastic process results in fluctuations…
Work extraction in quantum finite systems is an important issue in quantum thermodynamics. The optimal work extracted is called ergotropy, and it is achieved by maximizing the average work extracted over all the unitary cycles. However, an…
We derive the probability distribution of the efficiency of a quantum Otto engine. We explicitly compute the quantum efficiency statistics for an analytically solvable two-level engine. We analyze the occurrence of values of the stochastic…
Using near-term quantum computers to achieve a quantum advantage requires efficient strategies to improve the performance of the noisy quantum devices presently available. We develop and experimentally validate two efficient error…
Szilard's now-famous single-molecule engine was only the first of three constructions he introduced in 1929 to resolve several paradoxes arising from Maxwell's demon. We analyze Szilard's remaining two demon models. We show that the second…
Information engines can convert thermal fluctuations of a bath at temperature $T$ into work at rates of order $k_\mathrm{B}T$ per relaxation time of the system. We show experimentally that such engines, when in contact with a bath that is…
We experimentally demonstrate that highly structured distributions of work emerge during even the simple task of erasing a single bit. These are signatures of a refined suite of time-reversal symmetries in distinct functional classes of…
Optimal engine performances are accomplished by quantum effects. Here we explore two routes towards ideal engines, namely (1) quantum systems that operate as hybrid machines being able to perform more than one useful task and (2) the…
Single-molecule experiments have found near-perfect thermodynamic efficiency in the rotary motor F1-ATP synthase. To help elucidate the principles underlying nonequilibrium energetic efficiency in such stochastic machines, we investigate…
Understanding and manipulating work fluctuations in microscale and nanoscale systems are of both fundamental and practical interest. For example, aspects of work fluctuations will be an important factor in designing nanoscale heat engines.…