Related papers: Bath generated work extraction and inversion-free …
We consider thermalization of a microscopic quantum system by interaction with a thermal bath. Our interest is the minimal size the bath can have while still being able to thermalize the system. Within a specific thermalization scheme we…
Many theoretical expressions of dissipation along non-equilibrium processes have been proposed. However, they have not been fully verified by experiments. Especially for systems strongly interacting with environments the connection between…
It is possible to extract work from a quantum-mechanical system whose dynamics is governed by a time-dependent cyclic Hamiltonian. An energy bath is required to operate such a quantum engine in place of the heat bath used to run a…
We revisit the problem of work extraction from a system in contact with a heat bath to a work storage system, and the reverse problem of state formation from a thermal system state in single-shot quantum thermodynamics. A physically…
We show that coupled two level systems like qubits studied in quantum information can be used as a thermodynamic machine. At least three qubits or spins are necessary and arranged in a chain. The system is interfaced between two split baths…
We study the entropy production of an open quantum system surrounded by a complex environment consisting of several heat baths at different temperatures. The detailed balance is elaborated in view of the distinguishable channels provided by…
We characterize the impact that the application of two maps in a quantum-controlled order has on the process of work extraction via unitary cycles and its optimization. The control is based on the quantum switch model that applies maps in…
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…
Thermodynamics teaches that if a system initially off-equilibrium is coupled to work sources, the maximum work that it may yield is governed by its energy and entropy. For finite systems this bound is usually not reachable. The maximum…
We propose and demonstrate an experimental scheme to engineer thermal baths with independently tunable temperatures and dissipation rates for the motional modes of a trapped-ion system. This approach enables robust thermal-state preparation…
Thermalization processes degrade the states of any working medium, turning any initial state into a passive state from which no work can be extracted. Recently, it has been shown that this degradation can be avoided if two identical…
When an open system is contacted with several thermal baths, the entropy produced by the irreversible processes ($dS_{\mathrm{i}}=dS-\sum_{\alpha}\text{\dj}Q_{\alpha}/T_{\alpha}$) keeps increasing, and this entropy production rate is always…
We discuss work performed on a quantum two-level system coupled to multiple thermal baths. To evaluate the work, a measurement of photon exchange between the system and the baths is envisioned. In a realistic scenario, some photons remain…
We study the performance of quantum thermal machines in which the working fluid of the model is represented by a many-body quantum system that is periodically connected with external baths via local couplings. A formal characterization of…
Quantum thermodynamics can be cast as a resource theory by considering free access to a heat bath, thereby viewing the Gibbs state at a fixed temperature as a free state and hence any other state as a resource. Here, we consider a…
The concepts of work and heat in the quantum domain, as well as their interconversion principles, are still an open debate. We have found theoretical evidence that a single photon packet is capable of extracting work from a single two-level…
Spin-echo experiments are often said to constitute an instant of anti-thermodynamic behavior in a concrete physical system that violates the second law of thermodynamics. We argue that a proper thermodynamic treatment of the effect should…
Many work extraction or information erasure processes in the literature involve the raising and lowering of energy levels via external fields. But even if the actual system is treated quantum mechanically, the field is assumed to be…
It is often claimed, that from a quantum system of d levels, and entropy S and heat bath of temperature T one can draw kT(ln d -S) amount of work. However, the usual arguments based on Szilard engine are not fully rigorous. Here we prove…
The integral relaxation time describing the thermoactivated escape of a uniaxial quantum spin system interacting with a boson bath is calculated analytically in the whole temperature range. For temperatures T much less than the barrier…