Transitions between refrigeration regions in extremely short quantum cycles

Quantum Finite-Time Thermodynamics: Insight from a Single Qubit Engine

Incorporating time into thermodynamics allows for addressing the tradeoff between efficiency and power. A qubit engine serves as a toy model in order to study this tradeoff from first principles, based on the quantum theory of open systems. We study the quantum origin of irreversibility, originating from heat transport, quantum friction, and thermalization in the presence of external driving. We construct various finite-time engine cycles that are based on the Otto and Carnot templates. Our analysis highlights the role of coherence and the quantum origin of entropy production.

Statistical thermodynamics of the Fröhlich-Bose-Einstein condensation of magnons out of equilibrium

This work presents a nonequilibrium statistical-thermodynamic approach to the study of a Fröhlich-Bose-Einstein condensation of magnons under radio-frequency radiation pumping. Fröhlich-Bose-Einstein condensates display a complex behavior consisting in steady-state conditions to the emergence of a synergetic dissipative structure resembling the Bose-Einstein condensation of systems in equilibrium. Then a kind of "two-fluid model" arises: the "normal" nonequilibrium structure and the Fröhlich condensate, which is shown to be an attractor to the system. In this study we analyze some aspects of the irreversible thermodynamics of this dissipative complex system. We obtained the expression for the informational entropy of the two-fluid condensate and introduced an order parameter to characterize the role of the Fröhlich interaction in ordering the system. The analysis highlights the order increase due to the Fröhlich interaction. We also study the informational entropy production of the system, considering its internal and external parts. Finally, the Glansdorff-Prigogine criteria for evolution and (in)stability are verified.

Quantifying the Unitary Generation of Coherence from Thermal Quantum Systems

Coherence is associated with transient quantum states; in contrast, equilibrium thermal quantum systems have no coherence. We investigate the quantum control task of generating maximum coherence from an initial thermal state employing an external field. A completely controllable Hamiltonian is assumed allowing the generation of all possible unitary transformations. Optimizing the unitary control to achieve maximum coherence leads to a micro-canonical energy distribution on the diagonal energy representation. We demonstrate such a control scenario starting from a given Hamiltonian applying an external field, reaching the control target. Such an optimization task is found to be trap-less. By constraining the amount of energy invested by the control, maximum coherence leads to a canonical energy population distribution. When the optimization procedure constrains the final energy too tightly, local suboptimal traps are found. The global optimum is obtained when a small Lagrange multiplier is employed to constrain the final energy. Finally, we explore the task of generating coherences restricted to be close to the diagonal of the density matrix in the energy representation.

Magnetic Otto Engine for an Electron in a Quantum Dot: Classical and Quantum Approach

We studied the performance of classical and quantum magnetic Otto cycle with a working substance composed of a single quantum dot using the Fock-Darwin model with the inclusion of the Zeeman interaction. Modulating an external/perpendicular magnetic field, in the classical approach, we found an oscillating behavior in the total work extracted that was not present in the quantum formulation.We found that, in the classical approach, the engine yielded a greater performance in terms of total work extracted and efficiency than when compared with the quantum approach. This is because, in the classical case, the working substance can be in thermal equilibrium at each point of the cycle, which maximizes the energy extracted in the adiabatic strokes.

Measurement-induced operation of two-ion quantum heat machines

We show how one can implement a quantum heat machine by using two interacting trapped ions, in presence of a thermal bath. The electronic states of the ions act like a working substance, while the vibrational mode is modelled as the cold bath. The heat exchange with the cold bath is mimicked by the projective measurement of the electronic states. We show how such measurement in a suitable basis can lead to either a quantum heat engine or a refrigerator, which undergoes a quantum Otto cycle. The local magnetic field is adiabatically changed during the heat cycle. The performance of the heat machine depends upon the interaction strength between the ions, the magnetic fields, and the measurement cost. In our model, the coupling to the hot and the cold baths is never switched off in an alternative fashion during the heat cycle, unlike other existing proposals of quantum heat engines. This makes our proposal experimentally realizable using current tapped-ion technology.

Occurrence of discontinuities in the performance of finite-time quantum Otto cycles

We study a quantum Otto cycle in which the strokes are performed in finite time. The cycle involves energy measurements at the end of each stroke to allow for the respective determination of work. We then optimize for the work and efficiency of the cycle by varying the time spent in the different strokes and find that the optimal value of the ratio of time spent on each stroke goes through sudden changes as the parameters of this cycle vary continuously. The position of these discontinuities depends on the optimized quantity under consideration such as the net work output or the efficiency.