Single-ion quantum Otto engine with always-on bath interaction

TL;DR

This paper proposes a feasible implementation of a quantum Otto engine using a single ion with always-on bath interactions, achieving near-unity efficiency through adiabatic magnetic field changes and projective measurements.

Contribution

It introduces a novel single-ion quantum Otto engine model that operates with constant bath coupling, simplifying experimental realization and enhancing practicality.

Findings

Work efficiency can approach unity through adiabatic magnetic field variation.

The engine operates without switching bath couplings on and off.

Experimental feasibility is demonstrated with current ion-trap technology.

Abstract

We demonstrate how a quantum Otto engine (QOE) can be implemented using a single ion and an always-on thermal environment. The internal degree of freedom of the ion is chosen as the working fluid, while the motional degree of freedom can be used as the cold bath. We show, that by adiabatically changing the local magnetic field, the work efficiency can be asymptotically made unity. We propose a projective measurement of the internal state of the ion that mimics the release of heat into the cold bath during the engine cycle. In our proposal, the coupling to the hot and the cold baths need not be switched off and on in an alternative fashion during the engine cycle, unlike other existing proposals of QOE. This renders the proposal experimentally feasible using the available tapped-ion engineering technology.