Single atom thermal engine modelled using quantum mechanics

Much of modern life is dependent on thermal engines. They power vehicles, heat and cool homes and food, and provide electricity to power the world. Typically, these thermal engines are treated as macroscopic objects, governed by classical laws. However, they consist of individual atoms and molecules which themselves experience quantum interactions.

Leitch et al. examined a case of a thermal engine acting on only one or two atoms and studied the behavior of the engine according to quantum mechanics.

“We show that certain quantum effects like squeezing and entanglement may give an advantage to our quantum thermal machine compared to classical macroscopic machines,” said author Gabriele De Chiara.

Their model featured either one or two atoms permanently coupled to a pair of heat baths in a driven system. The researchers explored the results from different driving conditions and the effects of squeezing and entanglement in the system. They found that under certain conditions, a quantum thermal engine operates at a higher efficiency than a comparable classical engine.

This work is still theoretical; however, the team hopes their work will lead to additional experimentation with quantum engines.

“Our proposal makes it easier to experimentally implement quantum engines and refrigerators with trapped particles, for example, trapped ions in electric traps or neutral atoms trapped in optical potentials,” said De Chiara.

The researchers also plan to investigate the effects of increasing the number of particles in the quantum engine while maintaining the quantum mechanical effects.

Source: “Driven quantum harmonic oscillators: A working medium for thermal machines,” by Heather Leitch, Nicolò Piccione, Bruno Bellomo, and Gabriele De Chiara, AVS Quantum Science (2022). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1116/5.0072067 .

This paper is part of the Quantum Thermodynamics Collection, learn more here .