Strongly coupled quantum heat machines

TL;DR

This paper investigates quantum heat machines in the strong coupling regime, revealing they can be as efficient as weakly coupled ones and identifying a saturation effect at ultra-strong coupling.

Contribution

It explores the largely unstudied strong coupling regime of quantum heat machines, challenging the weak coupling assumption and uncovering new efficiency and output behaviors.

Findings

Strongly coupled QHMs can match the efficiency of weakly coupled ones.

A novel turnover behavior causes output saturation at ultra-strong coupling.

Standard thermodynamic assumptions may not hold in the strong coupling regime.

Abstract

Quantum heat machines (QHMs) models generally assume a weak coupling to the baths. This supposition is grounded in the separability principle between systems and allows the derivation of the evolution equation for this case. In the weak coupling regime, the machine's output is limited by the coupling strength, restricting their application. Seeking to overcome this limitation, we here analyze QHMs in the virtually unexplored strong coupling regime, where separability, as well as other standard thermodynamic assumptions, may no longer hold. We show that strongly coupled QHMs may be as efficient as their weakly coupled counterparts. In addition, we find a novel turnover behavior where their output saturates and disappears in the limit of ultra-strong coupling.