Interaction-enhanced quantum heat engine

We study a minimal quantum Otto heat engine, where the working medium consists of an interacting few-body system in a harmonic trap. This allows us to consider the interaction strength as an additional tunable parameter during the work strokes. We calculate the figures of merit of this engine as a f...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mohamed Boubakour, Thomás Fogarty, Thomas Busch
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Physical Society 2023-02-01
Series:Physical Review Research
Online Access:http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.5.013088
Description
Summary:We study a minimal quantum Otto heat engine, where the working medium consists of an interacting few-body system in a harmonic trap. This allows us to consider the interaction strength as an additional tunable parameter during the work strokes. We calculate the figures of merit of this engine as a function of the temperature and show clearly in which parameter regimes the interactions assist in engine performance. We also study the finite-time dynamics and the subsequent tradeoff between the efficiency and the power, comparing the interaction-enhanced cycle with the case where the system remains scale-invariant.
ISSN:2643-1564