Quantum Otto engine of a two-level atom with single-mode fields

Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2012 Apr;85(4 Pt 1):041148. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.85.041148. Epub 2012 Apr 27.

Abstract

We establish a quantum Otto engine (QOE) of a two-level atom, which is confined in a one-dimensional (1D) harmonic trap and is coupled to single-mode radiation fields. Besides two adiabatic processes, the QOE cycle consists of two isochoric processes, along one of which the two-level atom as the working substance interacts with a single-mode radiation field. Based on the semigroup approach, we derive the time for completing any adiabatic process and then present a performance analysis of the heat engine model. Furthermore, we generalize the results to the performance optimization for a QOE of a single two-level atom trapped in a 1D power-law potential. Our result shows that the efficiency at maximum power output is dependent on the trap exponent θ but is independent of the energy spectrum index σ.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Computer Simulation
  • Energy Transfer*
  • Models, Chemical*
  • Quantum Theory*
  • Thermodynamics*