Single-Atom Heat Machines Enabled by Energy Quantization
Quantization of energy is a quintessential characteristic of quantum systems. Here we analyze its effects on the operation of Otto cycle heat machines and show that energy quantization alone may alter and increase machine performance in terms of output work, efficiency, and even operation mode. We s...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| 其他作者: | |
| 格式: | 文件 |
| 语言: | English |
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American Physical Society
2018
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| 在线阅读: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/115213 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7100-0847 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9786-0538 |
| 总结: | Quantization of energy is a quintessential characteristic of quantum systems. Here we analyze its effects on the operation of Otto cycle heat machines and show that energy quantization alone may alter and increase machine performance in terms of output work, efficiency, and even operation mode. We show that this difference in performance occurs in machines with inhomogeneous energy level scaling, while quantum machines with homogeneous level scaling behave like classical machines. Our results demonstrate that quantum thermodynamics enables the realization of classically inconceivable Otto machines, such as those with an incompressible working substance. We propose to measure these effects experimentally using a laser-cooled trapped ion as a microscopic heat machine. |
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