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  • Letter
  • Open Access

Power fluctuations in a finite-time quantum Carnot engine

Tobias Denzler and Eric Lutz

  • Institute for Theoretical Physics I, University of Stuttgart, D-70550 Stuttgart, Germany

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Phys. Rev. Research 3, L032041 – Published 13 August, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.3.L032041

Abstract

Stability is an important property of small thermal machines with fluctuating power output. We here consider a finite-time quantum Carnot engine based on a degenerate multilevel system and study the influence of its finite Hilbert space structure on its stability. We optimize in particular its relative work fluctuations with respect to level degeneracy and level number. We find that its optimal performance may surpass those of nondegenerate two-level engines or harmonic oscillator motors. Our results show how to realize high-performance, high-stability cyclic quantum heat engines.

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Phys. Rev. Research 3, L032041– Published 13 August, 2021
  • Received 13 July 2020
  • Accepted 13 July 2021
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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