2023/07/08 by Yuan-Sheng Wang, Man‐Hong Yung, Wang, Yuan-Sheng +7
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics #FOS: Physical sciences #Field-Flow Fractionation Techniques #Quantum Electrodynamics and Casimir Effect #Quantum Physics (quant-ph) #Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2307.03895
openalex publication_date 2023/07/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We investigate the performance of a Stirling cycle with a working substance (WS) modeled as the quantum Rabi model (QRM), exploring the impact of criticality on its efficiency. Our findings indicate that the criticality of the QRM has a positive effect on improving the efficiency of the Stirling cycle. Furthermore, we observe that the Carnot efficiency is asymptotically achievable as the WS parameter approaches the critical point, even when both the temperatures of the cold and hot reservoirs are finite. Additionally, we derive the critical behavior for the efficiency of the Stirling cycle, demonstrating how the efficiency asymptotically approaches the Carnot efficiency as the WS parameter approaches the critical point. Our work deepens the understanding of the impact of criticality on the performance of a Stirling heat engine.