Projects per year
Abstract
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 dynamics, we show that such experiments would give access to a set of observables that determine the trade-off between power and efficiency in finite-time engine cycles. By analyzing the single-jump statistics of thermodynamic fluxes such as heat and entropy production, we obtain a family of general bounds on the power of microscopic heat engines. Our new bounds unify two earlier results and admit a transparent physical interpretation in terms of single-photon measurements. In addition, these bounds confirm that driving-induced coherence leads to an increase in dissipation that suppresses the efficiency of slowly driven quantum engines in the weak-coupling regime. A nanoscale heat engine based on a superconducting qubit serves as an experimentally relevant example and a guiding paradigm for the development of our theory.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Article number | 033449 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | PHYSICAL REVIEW RESEARCH |
Volume | 2 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 21 Sep 2020 |
MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Keywords
- Fluctuations
- Nonequilibrium and irreversible thermodynamics
- quantum coherence
- Quantum thermodynamics
- Heat engines
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Quantum jump approach to microscopic heat engines'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
-
Finnish Centre of Excellence in Quantum Technology
Flindt, C., Deger, A., Burset Atienza, P. & Menczel, P.
01/01/2018 → 31/12/2020
Project: Academy of Finland: Other research funding