Controlling Work Output and Coherence in Finite Time Quantum Otto Engines Through Monitoring

TL;DR

This paper investigates how different quantum measurement schemes influence the work output and coherence of a finite-time quantum Otto engine, demonstrating control over engine performance through monitoring strategies.

Contribution

It introduces three pointer-based measurement schemes and analyzes their effects on work statistics and coherence in a quantum Otto engine, highlighting how monitoring can be used to control engine behavior.

Findings

Monitoring measurements can control work output and coherence.

Weak measurements reproduce no-monitor predictions for average work.

Strong measurements align with projective measurement results.

Abstract

We examine the role of diagnostic quantum measurements on the work statistics of a finite-time quantum Otto heat engine operated in the steady-state. We consider three pointer-based measurement schemes that differ in the number of system-pointer interactions and pointer measurements. We show that the coherence of the working substance and the work output of the engine can be controlled by tuning the monitoring measurements. Moreover, for a working substance consisting of a two-level system we show that while all three schemes reproduce the predictions of the cycle without any monitoring for the average work in the limit of infinitely weak measurement, only two of the schemes can reproduce the two-point projective measurement results in the limit of strong measurement.