2017/09/08 by Anqi Mu, Bijay Kumar Agarwalla, Gernot Schaller +1 · 40 citations
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Absorption refrigerator #Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics #Coupling (piping) #Dissipation #Quantum #Quantum Information and Cryptography #Quantum many-body systems #Qubit #Refrigeration #Refrigerator car #Work (physics) #cond-mat.mes-hall #cond-mat.stat-mech
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/1367-2630/aa9b75
published in New Journal of Physics 19(12), 123034 (IOP Publishing)
arxiv created 2017/09/08 · openalex created_date 2017/09/25 · openalex publication_date 2017/11/17 · arxiv updated 2018/01/17 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We demonstrate that a quantum absorption refrigerator (QAR) can be realized from the smallest quantum system, a qubit, by coupling it in a non-additive (strong) manner to three heat baths. This function is un-attainable for the qubit model under the weak system-bath coupling limit, when the dissipation is additive. In an optimal design, the reservoirs are engineered and characterized by a single frequency component. We then obtain closed expressions for the cooling window and refrigeration efficiency, as well as bounds for the maximal cooling efficiency and the efficiency at maximal power. Our results agree with macroscopic designs and with three-level models for QARs, which are based on the weak system-bath coupling assumption. Beyond the optimal limit, we show with analytical calculations and numerical simulations that the cooling efficiency varies in a non-universal manner with model parameters. Our work demonstrates that strongly-coupled quantum machines can exhibit function that is un-attainable under the weak system-bath coupling assumption.