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Annalen der Physik

Quantum Heat Engines with Spin‐Chain‐Star Systems

M. D. Alsulami, Mahmoud Youssef Abd‐Rabbou

Published Jul 30, 2024• 9 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract This study investigates a theoretical model of a Quantum Otto Cycle (QOC) that utilizes a working fluid spin‐chain‐star model. The system consists of a central atom interacting with multiple Heisenberg spin chains. Employing unitary transformations, the spin‐chain‐star system is transformed into a spin‐star model. The work done and heat transferred for three distinct working fluid configurations: the , , and cases are discussed. The efficiency of the heat engine is examined, and a comparative study between the efficiencies of the three configurations is presented. The study assumes two interaction scenarios for the central atom: either with a single chain (resulting in a two‐qubit system after transformation) or with three Heisenberg chains. The results demonstrate that increasing the ratio between the central atom's frequency in the hot bath and the cold bath leads to an enhancement in positive work performed for the and cases. In the case, the magnitude of this enhancement exhibits a dependence on the system's temperature. The QOC employing the configuration working fluid exhibits superior efficiency compared to the other two configurations. Moreover, increasing the central atom's relative frequency improves efficiency for all three cases.

DOI
10.1002/andp.202400122

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Abstract This study investigates a theoretical model of a Quantum Otto Cycle (QOC) that utilizes a working fluid spin‐chain‐star model. The system consists of a central atom interacting with multiple Heisenberg spin chains. Employing unitary transformations, the spin‐chain‐star system is transformed into a spin‐star model. The work done and heat transferred for three distinct working fluid configurations: the , , and cases are discussed. The efficiency of the heat engine is examined, and a comparative study between the efficiencies of the three configurations is presented. The study assumes two interaction scenarios for the central atom: either with a single chain (resulting in a two‐qubit system after transformation) or with three Heisenberg chains. The results demonstrate that increasing the ratio between the central atom's frequency in the hot bath and the cold bath leads to an enhancement in positive work performed for the and cases. In the case, the magnitude of this enhancement exhibits a dependence on the system's temperature. The QOC employing the configuration working fluid exhibits superior efficiency compared to the other two configurations. Moreover, increasing the central atom's relative frequency improves efficiency for all three cases.
This study presents a comparative analysis of three quantum thermal engines utilizing a two-qubit Heisenberg XXZ chain as the working substance. A novel generalized quantum Otto cycle (GQOC) is introduced, featuring two distinct coupling configurations to thermal reservoirs. The GQOC exhibits the potential for 100% efficiency, surpassing the efficiency of the conventional quantum Otto cycle. Essential conditions for positive work extraction and achieving maximum unity efficiency are derived. An experimental implementation using quantum electrodynamic circuits and Transmon qudit is proposed. This work contributes to the advancement of quantum heat engines, highlighting the benefits of nonequilibrium processes and asymmetric coupling for enhanced work extraction and efficiency.
Abstract This paper proposes a theoretical model for a heat engine operating on the Otto cycle, employing a two-qubit Heisenberg chain as its working substance. This system is subjected to an external, time-dependent homogeneous magnetic field and a symmetric cross-spin interaction. The interaction is configured to occur along two distinct orientations, contingent upon the direction of Zeeman energy and symmetric interaction: either exclusively along the X -direction or exclusively along the Z -direction. Furthermore, the thermal reservoirs integral to the Otto engine are considered to engage with the working substance via two discrete modes: a localized interaction or a collective interaction. The two qubits exhibit weak coupling to a non-equilibrium thermal environment during the isochoric heating and cooling strokes, thereby validating the application of a Markovian model as a suitable approximation for describing the time evolution of the working substance. This study investigates the influence of various system parameters on the thermodynamic quantities and the resultant power output. A principal finding is that refrigeration functionality is the predominant operational characteristic when the system engages in collective interaction with the reservoirs. Conversely, localized interactions facilitate dual operational modes, with the sign of the Zeeman energy determining the function as either a refrigerator or a heat engine. Significantly, positive power output is achieved in the engine regime, and we find that the choice of interaction axis acts as a powerful amplification mechanism for the thermodynamic output, while the system-environment coupling scheme proves to be the most decisive factor in determining the machine’s fundamental purpose.
This paper examines the performance analysis of quantum Otto machines (QOM) driven by a single qubit system embedded within a spin star environment. We investigate various thermodynamic correlations during the operation of these machines, including work performed, heat absorbed, and heat emissions. For the sake of simplicity, our exploration centers around two scenarios: one where the central qubit interacts with a single spin and another where it interacts with four qubits. Our findings reveal that QOM employing this system exhibit unique thermodynamic properties. Notably, we observe that the QOM can achieve enhanced levels of work performed as the number of spins in the environment increases. Furthermore, both the work performed and the efficiency of the QOM are influenced by the variation in detuning and coupling strength parameters across the four stages of its operation. Additionally, we demonstrate that careful selection of these parameters enables the optimization of QOM performance. In certain instances, the performance of the Otto cycle can be stabilized to emulate the behaviour of a heat engine by manipulating the coupling values while simultaneously controlling the frequency of the central qubit.
Abstract The efficiency of a quantum heat engine is maximum when the unitary strokes of the quantum Otto cycle are adiabatic. On the other hand, this may not be always possible due to small energy gaps in the system, especially at the critical point (CP) where the gap between the ground state and the first excited state vanishes and the system gets excited. With the aim to regain this lost adiabaticity, we modify one of the unitary strokes of the Otto cycle by allowing the system to first evolve with a time dependent Hamiltonian as in the case of a usual Otto cycle, followed by an additional evolution with a different time independent Hamiltonian so that the system reaches a less excited state. This will help in increasing the magnitude of the heat absorbed from the hot bath so that the work output and efficiency of the engine can be increased. We demonstrate this method using an integrable model and a non-integrable model as the working medium and discuss the generality and limitations of this method. In the case of a two spin system, the optimal value for the time till which the system needs to be freely evolved is calculated analytically in the adiabatic limit. The results show that implementing this modified unitary stroke significantly improves the work output and efficiency of the engine, especially when it crosses the CP.
We investigate a quasi-static quantum Stirling cycle employing a spin-chain-star working fluid, comprising a central ancilla coupled to multiple Heisenberg chains via anisotropic exchange. A unitary transformation reduces the many-body thermodynamics to exact diagonalisation within a Hilbert space of dimension two to the power of the chain number plus one. We evaluate purely transverse, isotropic in-plane, and fully anisotropic configurations. The cycle exhibits tunable heat engine, refrigerator, and quantum accelerator regimes governed by ancilla frequency and coupling strength disparities. The transverse configuration demonstrates superior engine performance approaching the Carnot limit, corroborated by a closed-form partition function that permits the engine-refrigerator boundary to be evaluated exactly at arbitrary chain number. Conversely, the fully anisotropic architecture undergoes a genuine many-body crossover from engine to refrigerator with escalating chain multiplicity, driven by collective coupling amplification. Regenerator functionality proves non-ideal, rendering the cycle irreversible. Perfect regeneration emerges only along a precise quantum resonance locus where isochoric heat exchanges balance. Deviating from this condition exacerbates thermal imbalance with increasing system size, constituting the primary irreversibility source. Finally, kinematic coherence maximizes during cold-bath compression and amplifies with anisotropy and chain number. Originating from Hamiltonian basis rotation rather than non-equilibrium dynamics, this coherence remains dissociated from thermodynamic efficacy.
The finite-time operation of a quantum-mechanical heat engine with a working fluid consisting of many noninteracting spin-1/2 systems is considered. The engine is driven by an external, time-dependent and nonrotating magnetic field. The cycle of operation consists of two adiabats and two isotherms. The analysis is based on the time derivatives of the first and second laws of thermodynamics. Explicit relations linking quantum observables to thermodynamic quantities are developed. The irreversible operation of this engine is studied in three cases: (1) The sudden limit, where the performance is found to be the same as that of the spin analog of the Otto cycle. This case provides the lower bound of efficiency. (2) The step-cycle operation scheme. Here, the optimization of power is carried out in the high-temperature limit (the ‘‘classical’’ limit). The results obtained are similar to those of Andresen et al. [Phys. Rev. A 15, 2086 (1977)]. (3) The Curzon–Ahlborn operation scheme. The semigroup approach is used to model the dynamics. Then the power production is optimized. All the results obtained for Newtonian engines operating by the same scheme, such as the Curzon–Ahlborn efficiency, apply in the high-temperature limit. These results are obtained without the additional assumption of proximity to thermal equilibrium, implicitly implied by the use of Newtonian heat conduction in the original derivation. It seems that the results of the Curzon–Ahlborn analysis are always obtained in the high-temperature limit, irrespective of the details of the model. The performance beyond the classical limit is optimized numerically. The classical approximation is found to be valid for most of the spin-polarization range. The deviations from the classical limit depend heavily upon the specific nature of both the working fluid and the heat baths and exhibit great diversity and complexity.