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  • Letter
  • Open Access

Heat-to-motion conversion for quantum active matter

Alexander-Georg Penner1,*, Ludmila Viotti2,*, Rosario Fazio2,3, Liliana Arrachea4, and Felix von Oppen1

  • *These authors contributed equally to this work.
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Phys. Rev. B 112, L180303 – Published 10 November, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/r6tm-nx19

Abstract

We introduce a model of an active quantum particle and discuss its properties. The particle has a set of internal states that mediate exchanges of heat with external reservoirs. Heat is then converted into motion by means of a spin-orbit term that couples internal and translational degrees of freedom. The quantum features of the active particle manifest both in the motion and in the heat-to-motion conversion. Furthermore, the stochastic nature of heat exchanges impacts the motion of the active particle and fluctuations can be orders of magnitude larger than the average values. The combination of spin-orbit interaction under nonequilibrium driving may bring active matter into the realm of cold atomic gases where our proposal can be implemented.

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Phys. Rev. B 112, L180303– Published 10 November, 2025
  • Received 20 March 2025
  • Revised 10 July 2025
  • Accepted 24 October 2025
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