The smallest refrigerators can reach maximal efficiency
Paul Skrzypczyk, Nicolas Brunner, Noah Linden, Sandu Popescu
TL;DR
This paper demonstrates that small-scale thermal machines, modeled as three-qubit refrigerators, can achieve Carnot efficiency, indicating size does not fundamentally limit efficiency.
Contribution
It analytically proves that minimal-sized quantum refrigerators can reach maximal thermodynamic efficiency, challenging previous assumptions about size constraints.
Findings
Small quantum refrigerators can reach Carnot efficiency.
Size does not impose a fundamental limit on efficiency.
Analytical proof using a three-qubit model.
Abstract
We investigate whether size imposes a fundamental constraint on the efficiency of small thermal machines. We analyse in detail a model of a small self-contained refrigerator consisting of three qubits. We show analytically that this system can reach the Carnot efficiency, thus demonstrating that there exists no complementarity between size and efficiency.
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