Related papers: Reversible quantum Brownian heat engines for elect…
When do non-equilibrium forms of disordered energy qualify as heat? \textcolor{blue}{We address this question in the context of cyclically operating heat engines in contact with a non-equilibrium energy reservoir that defies the zeroth law…
The Carnot theorem, one expression of the second law of thermodynamics, places a fundamental upper bound on the efficiency of heat engines operating between two heat baths. The Carnot theorem can be stated in a more generalized form for…
We discuss whether, and under which conditions, it is possible to realize a heat engine simply by dynamically modulating the couplings between the quantum working medium and thermal reservoirs. For that purpose, we consider the paradigmatic…
Collisional Brownian engines have been proposed as alternatives for nonequilibrium nanoscale engines. However, most studies have focused on the simpler overdamped case, leaving the role of inertia much less explored. In this work, we…
Recent advances in experimental control of colloidal systems have spurred a revolution in the production of mesoscale thermodynamic devices. Functional "textbook" engines, such as the Stirling and Carnot cycles, have been produced in…
We model a microscopic heat engine as a particle hopping on a one-dimensional lattice in a periodic sawtooth potential, with or without load, assisted by the thermal kicks it gets from alternately placed hot and cold thermal baths. We find…
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,…
Conventional thermionic power generators and refrigerators utilize a barrier in the direction of transport to selectively transmit high-energy electrons. Here we show that the energy spectrum of electrons transmitted in this way is not…
We propose a near-field inelastic thermoelectric heat engine where quantum-dots are used to effectively rectify the charge flow of photo-carriers. The device converts near-field heat radiation into useful electrical power. Heat absorption…
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…
Shortcuts to isothermality provide a powerful method to speed up quasistatic thermodynamic processes within finite-time manipulation. We employ the shortcut strategy to design and optimize Brownian heat engines, and formulate a geometric…
We consider a relativistic quantum heat engine that goes through a thermodynamical cycle consisting of stages involving laser-assisted cooling of electrons and the generation of Xray radiation. Quantum treatment of the processes makes it…
Modern technologies could soon make it possible to investigate the operation cycles of quantum heat engines by counting the photons that are emitted and absorbed by their working systems. Using the quantum jump approach to open-system…
Stochastic heat engines are devices that generate work from random thermal motion using a small number of highly fluctuating degrees of freedom. Proposals for such devices have existed for more than a century and include the Maxwell demon…
We consider thermal machines powered by locally equilibrium reservoirs that share classical or quantum correlations. The reservoirs are modelled by the so-called collisional model or repeated interactions model. In our framework, two…
We consider a Brownian particle confined by an external potential and subject to stochastic resetting to the origin. Motivated by the repetitive nature of the dynamics, we describe the process as a thermodynamic cycle of thermal expansion…
Relativistic thermal devices offer a unique platform for understanding the interplay between motion, quantum fields, and thermodynamics, revealing phenomena inaccessible to stationary systems. We consider a two-qubit SWAP heat engine whose…
Conventional continuous quantum heat engines with incoherent heat transfer perform poorly as they exploit two-body interactions between the system and hot or cold baths, thus having limited capability to outperform their classical…
We construct a generic model for a heat engine using information theory concepts, attributing irreversible energy dissipation to the information transmission channels. Using several forms for the channel capacity, classical and quantum, we…
Heat engines and information engines have each historically served as motivating examples for the development of thermodynamics. While these two types of systems are typically thought of as two separate kinds of machines, recent empirical…