Revealing the fuel of a quantum continuous measurement-based refrigerator
Phys. Rev. E 113, 014134 – Published 26 January, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/hpgc-nsmr
Abstract
While quantum measurements have been shown to constitute a resource for operating quantum thermal machines, the nature of the energy exchanges involved in the interaction between system and measuring apparatus is still under debate. In this work, we show that a microscopic model of the apparatus is necessary to unambiguously determine whether quantum measurements provide energy in the form of heat or work. We illustrate this result by considering a measurement-based refrigerator, made of a double quantum dot embedded in a two-terminal device, with the charge of one of the dots being continuously monitored. Tuning the parameters of the measurement device interpolates between heat- and work-fueled regimes with very different thermodynamic efficiency. Notably, we demonstrate a trade-off between a maximal thermodynamic efficiency when the measurement-based refrigerator is fueled by heat and a maximal measurement efficiency quantified by the signal-to-noise ratio in the work-fueled regime. Our analysis sheds light on the nature of the energy exchanges occurring during a quantum measurement, paving the way for energy optimization in quantum protocols and quantum machines.
