An all-optical nanomechanical heat engine

TL;DR

This paper proposes a theoretical design of an all-optical nanomechanical heat engine using a levitated nanoparticle in an optical cavity to implement a Stirling cycle, enabling fast control and optimization of engine performance.

Contribution

It introduces a novel all-optical nanomechanical heat engine concept and develops a systematic optimization method for its thermodynamic cycle.

Findings

Numerical simulations show high efficiency with realistic parameters.

Optimal driving protocols significantly improve power output.

The approach allows flexible control of thermodynamic parameters.

Abstract

We propose and theoretically investigate a nanomechanical heat engine. We show how a levitated nanoparticle in a harmonic optical trap inside an optical cavity can be used to realize a Stirling cycle in the underdamped regime. The all-optical approach enables fast and exible control of all the thermodynamical parameters and the effcient optimization of the performance of the engine. We develop a systematic optimization procedure to determine optimal driving protocols. We further perform numerical simulations with realistic parameters and evaluate the maximum power and the corresponding effciency.