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arXiv · 1510.03681

A single-atom heat engine

Johannes Roßnagel·Samuel Thomas Dawkins·Karl Nicolas Tolazzi·Obinna Abah·Eric Lutz·Ferdinand Schmidt-Kaler·Kilian Singer
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Abstract

We report the experimental realization of a single-atom heat engine. An ion is confined in a linear Paul trap with tapered geometry and driven thermally by coupling it alternately to hot and cold reservoirs. The output power of the engine is used to drive a harmonic oscillation. From direct measurements of the ion dynamics, we determine the thermodynamic cycles for various temperature differences of the reservoirs. We use these cycles to evaluate power $P$ and efficiency $η$ of the engine, obtaining up to $P=342\,$yJ and $η=0.28 \,\%$, consistent with analytical estimations. Our results demonstrate that thermal machines can be reduced to the ultimate limit of single atoms.

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Johannes Roßnagel, Samuel Thomas Dawkins, Karl Nicolas Tolazzi, Obinna Abah, Eric Lutz, Ferdinand Schmidt-Kaler, Kilian Singer. 2015-10-13. A single-atom heat engine. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aad6320

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