Quantum heat engines based on electronic Mach-Zehnder interferometers

TL;DR

This paper explores the quantum thermoelectric properties of Mach-Zehnder interferometers, demonstrating their potential as efficient heat engines driven by quantum mechanical effects in various terminal configurations.

Contribution

It introduces the theoretical analysis of thermoelectric performance in Mach-Zehnder interferometers with different terminal setups, highlighting their efficiency and quantum origin.

Findings

Interferometers can serve as effective quantum heat engines.

Thermoelectric response is purely quantum mechanical due to energy-dependent transmission.

Various terminal configurations influence the performance of these quantum heat engines.

Abstract

We theoretically investigate the thermoelectric properties of heat engines based on Mach-Zehnder interferometers. The energy dependence of the transmission amplitudes in such setups arises from a difference in the interferometer arm lengths. Any thermoelectric response is thus of purely quantum mechanical origin. In addition to an experimentally established three-terminal setup, we also consider a two-terminal geometry as well as a four-terminal setup consisting of two interferometers. We find that Mach-Zehnder interferometers can be used as powerful and efficient heat engines which perform well under realistic conditions.