Superconducting-like heat current: Effective cancellation of current-dissipation trade off by quantum coherence

Abstract

Producing a large current typically requires large dissipation, as is the case in electric conduction, where Joule heating is proportional to the square of the current. Stochastic thermodynamics offers a framework to study nonequilibrium thermodynamics of small fluctuating systems, and quite recently, microscopic derivations and universal understanding of the trade-off relation between the current and dissipation have been put forward. Here we establish a universal framework clarifying how quantum coherence affects the trade-off between the current and dissipation: a proper use of coherence enhances the heat current without increasing dissipation, i.e. coherence can reduce friction. If the amount of coherence is large enough, this friction becomes virtually zero, realizing a superconducting-like ``dissipation-less'' heat current. Since our framework clarifies a general relation among coherence, energy flow, and dissipation, it can be applied to many branches of science. As an application to energy science, we construct a quantum heat engine cycle that exceeds the power-efficiency bound on classical engines, and effectively attains the Carnot efficiency with finite power in fast cycles. We discuss important implications of our findings with regard to the field of quantum information theory, condensed matter physics and biology.