Optimal figure of merit of low-dissipation quantum refrigerators

Phys Rev E. 2023 Apr;107(4-1):044118. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.107.044118.

Abstract

The Drazin inverse of the Liouvillian superoperator provides a solution to determine the dynamics of a time-dependent system governed by the Markovian master equation. Under the condition of slow driving, the perturbation expansion of the density operator of the system in powers of time can be derived. As an application, a finite-time cycle model of the quantum refrigerator driven by a time-dependent external field is established. The method of the Lagrange multiplier is adopted as a strategy to find the optimal cooling performance. The figure of merit given by the product of the coefficient of performance and the cooling rate is taken as a new objective function, and, consequently, the optimally operating state of the refrigerator is revealed. The effects of the frequency exponent determining dissipation characteristics on the optimal performance of the refrigerator are discussed systemically. The results obtained show that the adjacent areas of the state of the maximum figure of merit are the best operation region of low-dissipative quantum refrigerators.