Enhanced Efficiency at Maximum Power in a Fock-Darwin Model Quantum Dot Engine

Francisco J Peña; Nathan M Myers; Daniel Órdenes; Francisco Albarrán-Arriagada; Patricio Vargas

doi:10.3390/e25030518

Enhanced Efficiency at Maximum Power in a Fock-Darwin Model Quantum Dot Engine

Entropy (Basel). 2023 Mar 17;25(3):518. doi: 10.3390/e25030518.

Authors

Francisco J Peña^{1

2}, Nathan M Myers³, Daniel Órdenes^{1

2}, Francisco Albarrán-Arriagada⁴, Patricio Vargas⁵

Affiliations

¹ Departamento de Física, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Av. España 1680, Valparaíso 11520, Chile.
² Millennium Nucleus in NanoBioPhysics (NNBP), Av. España 1680, Valparaíso 11520, Chile.
³ Department of Physics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
⁴ Departamento de Física, CEDENNA, Universidad de Santiago de Chile (USACH), Avenida Víctor Jara 3493, Estación Central 9170124, Chile.
⁵ Departamento de Física, CEDENNA, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Av. España 1680, Valparaíso 11520, Chile.

Abstract

We study the performance of an endoreversible magnetic Otto cycle with a working substance composed of a single quantum dot described using the well-known Fock-Darwin model. We find that tuning the intensity of the parabolic trap (geometrical confinement) impacts the proposed cycle's performance, quantified by the power, work, efficiency, and parameter region where the cycle operates as an engine. We demonstrate that a parameter region exists where the efficiency at maximum output power exceeds the Curzon-Ahlborn efficiency, the efficiency at maximum power achieved by a classical working substance.

Keywords: magnetic cycle; quantum Otto cycle; quantum thermodynamics.

Grants and funding

F.J.P. acknowledges financial support from ANID Fondecyt, Iniciación en Investigación 2020 grant no. 11200032, ANID Fondecyt grant no. 1210312, “Millennium Nucleus in NanoBioPhysics” project NNBP NCN2021_021. N.M.M. acknowledges support from AFOSR (FA2386-21-1-4081, FA9550-19-1-0272, FA9550-23-1-0034) and ARO (W911NF2210247, W911NF2010013). F.A.-A. acknowledges financial support from ANID Subvención a la Instalación en la Academia SA77210018 and ANID Proyecto Basal AFB 220001. P.V. acknowledges support from ANID Fondecyt grant no. 1210312 and ANID PIA/Basal grant no. AFB 220001.