Efficiency of the general quantum-mechanical Carnot engine

TL;DR

This paper introduces a quantum analog of the Carnot engine, deriving a general efficiency formula based on energy spectra, highlighting the nonuniversality due to the lack of a second-law-like principle in quantum mechanics.

Contribution

It presents a new quantum-mechanical Carnot engine model with a spectrum-based efficiency formula applicable to arbitrary potentials.

Findings

Efficiency depends on the potential's energy spectrum

Efficiency formula is universal for given spectrum

Engine's nonuniversality stems from absence of second-law-like principle

Abstract

A quantum-mechanical analog of the Carnot engine reversibly working at vanishing temperature, shortly termed the quantum-mechanical Carnot engine, is discussed. A general formula for the efficiency of such an engine with an arbitrary confining potential is presented. Its expression is purely given in terms of the structure of the energy spectrum. Dependency of the efficiency on the form of a potential as an analog of the working material in thermodynamics implies nonuniversality of the engine. This may be due to the absence of the second-law-like principle in pure-state quantum mechanics.