2023/03/27 by Edoardo Maria Centamori, Michele Campisi, Centamori, Edoardo Maria +3 · 1 citation
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics #FOS: Physical sciences #Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) #Quantum Computing Algorithms and Architecture #Quantum Physics (quant-ph) #Quantum many-body systems #Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2303.15574
openalex publication_date 2023/03/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
We study the performance of quantum thermal machines in which the working fluid of the model is represented by a many-body quantum system that is periodically connected with external baths via local couplings. A formal characterization of the limit cycles of the set-up is presented in terms of the mixing properties of the quantum channel that describes the evolution of the fluid over a thermodynamic cycle. For the special case in which the system is a collection of spin 1/2 particles coupled via magnetization preserving Hamiltonians, a full characterization of the possible operational regimes (i.e., thermal engine, refrigerator, heater and thermal accelerator) is provided: in this context we show in fact that the different regimes only depend upon a limited number of parameters (essentially the ratios of the energy gaps associated with the local Hamiltonians of the parts of the network which are in direct thermal contact with the baths).