An out-of-equilibrium non-Markovian quantum heat engine
Pezzutto, M.
; Paternostro, M.
; Omar, Y.
Quantum Science and Technology Vol. 4, Nº 2, pp. 00 - 00, January, 2019.
ISSN (print):
ISSN (online): 2058-9565
Scimago Journal Ranking: 1,90 (in 2019)
Digital Object Identifier: 10.1088/2058-9565/aaf5b4
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Abstract
We study the performance of a quantum Otto cycle using a harmonic work medium and undergoing collisional dynamics with finite-size reservoirs. We span the dynamical regimes of the work strokes from strongly non-adiabatic to quasi-static conditions, and address the effects that non-Markovianity of the open-system dynamics of the work medium can have on the efficiency of the thermal machine. While such efficiency never surpasses the classical upper bound valid for finite-time stochastic engines, the behaviour of the engine shows clear-cut effects induced by both the finiteness of the evolution time, and the memory-bearing character of the system-environment evolution.
