Quantum thermodynamics: thermodynamics at the nanoscale

A. E. Allahverdyan; R. Balian; Th. M. Nieuwenhuizen

doi:10.1080/09500340408231829

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Quantum thermodynamics: thermodynamics at the nanoscale

A. E. Allahverdyan·R. Balian·Th. M. Nieuwenhuizen

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Abstract

A short introduction on quantum thermodynamics is given and three new topics are discussed: 1) Maximal work extraction from a finite quantum system. The thermodynamic prediction fails and a new, general result is derived, the ``ergotropy''. 2) In work extraction from two-temperature setups, the presence of correlations can push the effective efficiency beyond the Carnot bound. 3) In the presence of level crossing, non-slow changes may be more optimal than slow ones.

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A. E. Allahverdyan, R. Balian, Th. M. Nieuwenhuizen. 2004-02-14. Quantum thermodynamics: thermodynamics at the nanoscale. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500340408231829

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