Decomposition of radiation energy into work and heat

TL;DR

This paper introduces a quantum thermodynamics framework to decompose radiation energy from a cavity QED system into work and heat, based on quantum master equations, distinguishing coherent and incoherent radiation components.

Contribution

It proposes a novel method to decompose radiation energy into work and heat in quantum systems, emphasizing the roles of coherent and incoherent radiation parts.

Findings

Work corresponds to coherent radiation

Heat corresponds to incoherent radiation

The method relies on analyzing system dynamics receiving radiation

Abstract

We investigate energy transfer by the radiation from a cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) system in the context of quantum thermodynamics. We propose a method of decomposing it into work and heat within the framework of quantum master equations. We find that the work and heat correspond respectively to the coherent and incoherent parts of the radiation. In the derivation of the method, it is crucial to investigate the dynamics of the system that receives the radiation from the cavity.