Related papers: Quantum dot thermal machines -- a guide to enginee…
From the thermodynamic equilibrium properties of a two-level system with variable energy-level gap $\Delta$, and a careful distinction between the Gibbs relation $dE = T dS + (E/\Delta) d\Delta$ and the energy balance equation $dE = \delta…
We study the energestics of a thermal motor driven by temperature differences, which consists of Brownian particles moving in a sawtooth potential with an external load where the viscous medium is alternately in contact with hot and cold…
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…
Quantum heat engines employ as working agents multi-level systems instead of gas-filled cylinders. We consider particularly two-level agents such as electrons immersed in a magnetic field. Work is produced in that case when the electrons…
We investigate a quantum thermal machine composed of two qubits coupled through a Raman-induced exchange interaction and driven by inhomogeneous transition frequencies. The system is analyzed within Carnot, Otto, and Stirling thermodynamic…
We present a detailed study of a three-level quantum heat engine operating at maximum efficient power function, a trade-off objective function defined by the product of the efficiency and power output of the engine. First, for near…
We show that quantum coherence can enhance the performance of a continuous quantum heat engine in the Lindblad description. We investigate the steady-state solutions of the particle-exchanging quantum heat engine, composed of degenerate…
While thermodynamics is a useful tool to describe the driving of large systems close to equilibrium, fluctuations dominate the distribution of heat and work in small systems and far from equilibrium. We study the heat generated by driving a…
This paper examines the thermoelectric response of a dissipative quantum dot heat engine based on the Anderson-Holstein model in two relevant operating limits: (i) when the dot phonon modes are out of equilibrium, and (ii) when the dot…
Whether the strong coupling to thermal baths can improve the performance of quantum thermal machines remains an open issue under active debate. Here, we revisit quantum thermal machines operating with the quasi-static Carnot cycle and aim…
The energy conversion efficiency of far-from-equilibrium systems is generally limited by irreversible thermodynamic fluxes that make contact with different heat baths. For complex systems, the states of the maximum efficiency and the…
A quantum-mechanical analog of the Carnot engine reversibly working at vanishing temperature, shortly termed the quantum-mechanical Carnot engine, is discussed. A general formula for the efficiency of such an engine with an arbitrary…
We analyze the noise properties of both electric charge and heat currents as well as their correlations in a quantum-dot based thermoelectric engine. The engine is a three-terminal conductor with crossed heat and charge flows where heat…
In this article we review the thermoelectric properties of three terminal devices with Coulomb coupled quantum dots (QDs) as observed in recent experiments [1,2]. The system we consider consists of two Coulomb-blockade QDs one of which can…
Properties of the coupled particles with spin 3/2 (quartits) in a constant magnetic field, as a working substance in the quantum Otto cycle of the heat engine, are considered. It is shown that this system as a converter of heat energy in…
Quantum dots (QDs) are good model systems for fundamental studies of mesoscopic transport phenomena using thermoelectric effects because of their small size, electrostatically tunable properties and thermoelectric response characteristics…
The inexorable miniaturisation of technologies, the relentless drive to improve efficiency and the enticing prospect of boosting performance through quantum effects are all compelling reasons to investigate microscopic machines. Thermal…
We consider a thermodynamic machine in which the working fluid is a quantized harmonic oscillator that is controlled on timescales that are much faster than the oscillator period. We find that operation in this `fast' regime allows access…
After a brief historical perspective, we introduce the key notions of work and heat for quantum systems, to then apply them to quantum engines operating on quantum Otto and Carnot cycles. The irreversible and dissipative character of the…
Combining two disparate lines of thought like thermodynamics and quantum mechanics yields surprising results. The resulting idea of quantum thermodynamic engines holds promise for harvesting novel sources of energy of purely quantum origin,…