Qubit absorption refrigerator at strong coupling

TL;DR

This paper shows that a quantum absorption refrigerator can be realized with a single qubit under strong coupling to heat baths, achieving efficient cooling beyond the limits of weak coupling models.

Contribution

It introduces a strong coupling approach to quantum absorption refrigerators using a qubit, providing analytical expressions and demonstrating enhanced performance over weak coupling models.

Findings

Strong coupling enables refrigeration with a qubit, impossible under weak coupling.

Derived closed-form expressions for cooling window and efficiency.

Efficiency bounds and non-universal behavior beyond optimal conditions.

Abstract

We demonstrate that a quantum absorption refrigerator can be realized from the smallest quantum system, a qubit, by coupling it in a non-additive (strong) manner to three heat baths. This function is un-attainable for the qubit model under the weak system-bath coupling limit, when the dissipation is additive. In an optimal design, the reservoirs are engineered and characterized by a single frequency component. We obtain then closed expressions for the cooling window and refrigeration efficiency, as well as bounds for the maximal cooling efficiency and the efficiency at maximal power. Our results agree with macroscopic designs and with three-level models for quantum absorption refrigerators, which are based on the weak system-bath coupling assumption. Beyond the optimal limit, we show with analytic calculations and numerical simulations that the cooling efficiency varies in a non-universal manner with model parameters. Our work demonstrates that strongly-coupled quantum machines can exhibit function that is un-attainable under the weak system-bath coupling assumption.