Quantum field heat engine powered by phonon-photon interactions

TL;DR

This paper proposes a quantum heat engine utilizing phonon-photon interactions within a cavity with oscillating mirrors, performing an Otto cycle to convert heat into work with measurable efficiency.

Contribution

It introduces a novel quantum heat engine model based on nonlinear phonon-photon interactions and analyzes its operation and efficiency.

Findings

Net work can be extracted after a full cycle

Efficiency of the quantum heat engine is evaluated

Resonance conditions enable heat transfer between baths

Abstract

We present a quantum heat engine based on a cavity with two oscillating mirrors that confine a quantum field as the working substance. The engine performs an Otto cycle during which the walls and a field mode interact via a nonlinear Hamiltonian. Resonances between the frequencies of the cavity mode and the walls allow to transfer heat from the hot and the cold bath by exploiting the conversion between phononic and photonic excitations. We study the time evolution of the system and show that net work can be extracted after a full cycle. We evaluate the efficiency of the process.