2017/07/18 by G. Alvarado Barrios, F. Albarrán-Arriagada, F. A. Cárdenas-López +2 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physreva.96.052119
published as Phys. Rev. A 96, 052119 (2017) · 9 pages, 12 figures
arxiv created 2017/07/18 · arxiv updated 2017/11/22
We study a quantum Otto engine embedding a working substance composed by a two-level system interacting with a harmonic mode. The physical properties of the substance are described by a generalized quantum Rabi model arising in superconducting circuits realizations. We show that light-matter quantum correlations reduction during the hot bath stage and compression stage act as a resource for enhanced work extraction and efficiency respectively. Also, we demonstrate that the anharmonic spectrum of the working subtance has a direct impact on the transition from heat engine into refrigerator as the light-matter coupling is increased. These results shed light on the search for optimal conditions in the performance of quantum heat engines.