SciPost Submission Page
Quantum many-body thermal machines enabled by atom-atom correlations
by R. S. Watson, K. V. Kheruntsyan
Submission summary
| Authors (as registered SciPost users): | Karen Kheruntsyan |
| Submission information | |
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| Preprint Link: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.05266v5 (pdf) |
| Date submitted: | 2025-04-07 04:58 |
| Submitted by: | Kheruntsyan, Karen |
| Submitted to: | SciPost Physics |
| Ontological classification | |
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| Academic field: | Physics |
| Specialties: |
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| Approach: | Theoretical |
Abstract
Particle-particle correlations, characterized by Glauber's second-order correlation function,play an important role in the understanding of various phenomena in radio and optical astronomy, quantum and atom optics, particle physics, condensed matter physics, and quantum many-body theory. However, the relevance of such correlations to quantum thermodynamics has so far remained illusive. Here, we propose and investigate a class of quantum many-body thermal machines whose operation is directly enabled by second-order atom-atom correlations in an ultracold atomic gas. More specifically, we study quantum thermal machines that operate in a sudden interaction-quench Otto cycle and utilize a one-dimensional Lieb-Liniger gas of repulsively interacting bosons as the working fluid. The atom-atom correlations in such a gas are different to those of a classical ideal gas, and are a result of the interplay between interparticle interactions, quantum statistics, and thermal fluctuations. We show that operating these thermal machines in the intended regimes, such as a heat engine, refrigerator, thermal accelerator, or heater, would be impossible without such atom-atom correlations. Our results constitute a step forward in the design of conceptually new quantum thermodynamic devices which take advantage of uniquely quantum resources such as quantum coherence, correlations, and entanglement.
Author indications on fulfilling journal expectations
- Provide a novel and synergetic link between different research areas.
- Open a new pathway in an existing or a new research direction, with clear potential for multi-pronged follow-up work
- Detail a groundbreaking theoretical/experimental/computational discovery
- Present a breakthrough on a previously-identified and long-standing research stumbling block
Author comments upon resubmission
List of changes
In response to Referee #1 report:
1. We modified Fig. 1 and connected the points B-C and D-A by dashed lines, which gave us an opportunity to expand the figure caption and explain that this is not a "typical" engine cycle -- along the lines of referee's comment.
2. We have now added a brief discussion of the nature of work in our engine in the paragraph following Eq. (5).
3. We have added a discussion and comparison of our sudden quench results against the ideal (maximum possible efficiency) Otto cycle in Appendix G. We refer to this Appendix on page 8, at the end of Section 3.
4. We have fixed the typo in the Fig. 3(d) label to |Q_1|>|Q_2|.
5. We have now cited all these three suggested papers. Additionally, we added two more citations [4,5] to the list of recent review articles [1-5] on quantum thermodynamics.
In response to Referee #2 report:
6. We moved Fig. 5b from Appendix D to the main text as Figure 2 and added a new figure caption.
7. We have included a brief identification of different physical regimes that we refer to as I-VI on page 6 of the main text.
8. We have clarified on page 3 [for stroke (1)] that "The working fluid starts in some non-equilibrium state A (corresponding to the final state of the previous stroke) and is left to equilibrate with the reservoir..."
9. We have added the missing closing bracket when we refer to "(see Appendix H)" on page 10.
Other minor changes:
10. We moved the definition of ¯G(2)i into a displayed equation, Eq. (2).
11. We made minor changes to the wording the first sentence in the paragraph before Eq. (5).