Search

We derive the general probability distribution function of stochastic work for quantum Otto engines in which both the isochoric and driving processes are irreversible due to finite time duration. The time-dependent work fluctuations, average work, and thermodynamic efficiency are explicitly obtained for a complete cycle operating with an analytically solvable two-level system. The effects of the irreversibility originating from finite-time cycle operation on the thermodynamic efficiency, work fluctuations, and relative power fluctuations are discussed.

A three-terminal refrigerator based on resonant-tunneling quantum wells is proposed. With the help of the Landauer formula, the expressions for the cooling rate and the coefficient of performance (COP) are derived. The working regions of the refrigerator are determined and the three-dimensional projection graphs of the cooling rate and the COP varying with the positions of the two energy levels are plotted. Moreover, the influence of the bias voltage, the asymmetric factor, and the temperature difference on the optimal performance parameters is analyzed in detail. Finally, the performance characteristics of the refrigerator in the case of negative temperature difference are discussed.

We propose and theoretically investigate a system of two coupled harmonic oscillators as a heat engine. We show how these two coupled oscillators within undamped regime can be controlled to realize an Otto cycle that consists of two adiabatic and two isochoric processes. During the two isochores the harmonic system is embedded in two heat reservoirs at constant temperatures T(h) and T(c)(

We propose a quantum absorption refrigerator driven by photons. The model uses a four-level system as its working substance and couples simultaneously to hot, cold, and solar heat reservoirs. Explicit expressions for the cooling power ${\stackrel{\ifmmode \dot{}\else \.{}\fi{}}{Q}}_{c}$ and coefficient of performance (COP) ${\ensuremath{\eta}}_{\text{COP}}$ are derived, with the purpose of revealing and optimizing the performance of the device. Our model runs most efficiently under the tight coupling condition, and it is consistent with the third law of thermodynamics in the limit $T\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0$.

We consider the efficiency at maximum power of a quantum Otto engine, which uses a spin or a harmonic system as its working substance and works between two heat reservoirs at constant temperatures ${T}_{h}$ and ${T}_{c}$ $(l{T}_{h})$. Although the behavior of spin-$1/2$ system differs substantially from that of the harmonic system in that they obey two typical quantum statistics, the efficiencies at maximum power based on these two different kinds of quantum systems are bounded from the upper side by the same expression ${\ensuremath{\eta}}_{\mathrm{mp}}\ensuremath{\le}{\ensuremath{\eta}}_{+}\ensuremath{\equiv}{\ensuremath{\eta}}_{C}^{2}/[{\ensuremath{\eta}}_{C}\ensuremath{-}(1\ensuremath{-}{\ensuremath{\eta}}_{C})ln(1\ensuremath{-}{\ensuremath{\eta}}_{C})]$ with ${\ensuremath{\eta}}_{C}=1\ensuremath{-}{T}_{c}/{T}_{h}$ as the Carnot efficiency. This expression ${\ensuremath{\eta}}_{\mathrm{mp}}$ possesses the same universality of the CA efficiency ${\ensuremath{\eta}}_{\mathrm{CA}}=1\ensuremath{-}\sqrt{1\ensuremath{-}{\ensuremath{\eta}}_{C}}$ at small relative temperature difference. Within the context of irreversible thermodynamics, we calculate the Onsager coefficients and show that the value of ${\ensuremath{\eta}}_{\mathrm{CA}}$ is indeed the upper bound of EMP for an Otto engine working in the linear-response regime.

We consider the finite-time operation of a quantum heat engine whose working substance is composed of a two-level atomic system. The engine cycle, consisting of two quantum adiabatic and two quantum isochoric (constant-frequency) processes and working between two heat reservoirs at temperatures T(h) and T(c)(

A Brownian refrigerator with the cold and hot reservoirs alternating along a space coordinate is established. The heat flux couples with the movement of the Brownian particles due to an external force in the spatially asymmetric but periodic potential. After using the Arrhenius factor to describe the behaviors of the forward and backward jumps of the particles, the expressions for coefficient of performance (COP) and cooling rate are derived analytically. Then, through maximizing the product of conversion efficiency and heat flux flowing out, a new upper bound only depending on the temperature ratio of the cold and hot reservoirs is found numerically in the reversible situation, and it is a little larger than the so-called Curzon and Ahlborn COP ε(CA)=(1/√[1-τ])-1. After considering the irreversible factor owing to the kinetic energy change of the moving particles, we find the optimized COP is smaller than ε(CA) and the external force even does negative work on the Brownian particles when they jump from a cold to hot reservoir.

Based on counting statistics and Bogoliubov theory, we present a recurrence relation for the microcanonical partition function for a weakly interacting Bose gas with a finite number of particles in a cubic box. According to this microcanonical partition function, we calculate numerically the distribution function, condensate fraction, and condensate fluctuations for a finite and isolated Bose-Einstein condensate. For ideal and weakly interacting Bose gases, we compare the condensate fluctuations with those in the canonical ensemble. The present approach yields an accurate account of the condensate fluctuations for temperatures close to the critical region. We emphasize that the interactions between excited atoms turn out to be important for moderate temperatures.

We study a Feynman-like thermal Brownian motor, in which the asymmetric corrugated cylinder as the ratchet is coupled with a corrugated plate by the noncontact Casimir interaction between them. The source of driving of the system is the thermal fluctuations and its dynamic evolution is described by a set of Langevin equations. Further, the mean velocity and thermal efficiency of the motor in the overdamped limit are studied in detail as a function of the temperature of the baths, external load applied, magnitude of the Casimir interaction, and other relevant parameters by the numerical stimulation. The transport properties attained here and the essential roles of the Casimir interaction can be explicitly demonstrated by designing a Casimir Brownian motor with present nanotechnology.

The cycle model of a quantum refrigerator composed of two isothermal and two isomagnetic field processes is established. The working substance in the cycle consists of many noninteracting spin-1/2 systems. The performance of the cycle is investigated, based on the quantum master equation and semigroup approach. The general expressions of several important performance parameters, such as the coefficient of performance, cooling rate, and power input, are given. Especially, the case at high temperatures is analyzed in detail. The results obtained are further generalized and discussed, so that they may be directly used to describe the performance of the quantum refrigerator using spin-J systems as the working substance. Finally, the optimum characteristics of the quantum Carnot refrigerator are derived simply.