Boosting engine performance with Bose-Einstein condensation

TL;DR

This paper investigates how a Bose-Einstein condensate can enhance the performance of an Otto engine, showing increased power and efficiency when using BEC as the working medium.

Contribution

It introduces a novel analysis of an Otto cycle with a Bose gas, highlighting performance improvements in the BEC phase compared to other regimes.

Findings

Enhanced power output in the BEC regime

Higher efficiency at maximum power with BEC

Performance varies across different phases of the Bose gas

Abstract

At low-temperatures a gas of bosons will undergo a phase transition into a quantum state of matter known as a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), in which a large fraction of the particles will occupy the ground state simultaneously. Here we explore the performance of an endoreversible Otto cycle operating with a harmonically confined Bose gas as the working medium. We analyze the engine operation in three regimes, with the working medium in the BEC phase, in the gas phase, and driven across the BEC transition during each cycle. We find that the unique properties of the BEC phase allow for enhanced engine performance, including increased power output and higher efficiency at maximum power.