Multistage quantum absorption heat pumps

This is the final version. Available from American Physical Society via the DOI in this recordIt is well known that heat pumps, while being all limited by the same basic thermodynamic laws, may find realization on systems as “small” and “quantum” as a three-level maser. In order to quantitatively assess how the performance of these devices scales with their size, we design generalized N-dimensional ideal heat pumps by merging N−2 elementary three-level stages. We set them to operate in the absorption chiller mode between given hot and cold baths and study their maximum achievable cooling power and the corresponding efficiency as a function of N . While the efficiency at maximum power is roughly size-independent, the power itself slightly increases with the dimension, quickly saturating to a constant. Thus, interestingly, scaling up autonomous quantum heat pumps does not render a significant enhancement beyond the optimal double-stage configuration

Vortex Softening: Origin of the second peak effect in Bi2_2Sr2_2CaCu2_2O8+δ_{8+\delta}

Transverse ac permeability measurements in Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+\delta }$ single crystals at low fields and temperatures in a vortex configuration free of external forces show that the decrease of the critical current as measured by magnetization loops at the second peak effect is an artifact due to creep. On the other hand, the increase of critical current at the second peak is due to a genuine softening of the tilting elastic properties of vortices in the individual pinning regime that precedes the transition to a disorder state.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, RevTex, two column versio

Measuring the temperature of cold many-body quantum systems

This is the final version. Available from American Physical Society via the DOI in this recordPrecise low-temperature thermometry is a key requirement for virtually any quantum technological application. Unfortunately, as the temperature T decreases, the errors in its estimation diverge very quickly. In this paper, we determine exactly how quickly this may be. We rigorously prove that the “conventional wisdom” of low- T thermometry being exponentially inefficient is limited to local thermometry on translationally invariant systems with short-range interactions, featuring a nonzero gap above the ground state. This result applies very generally to spin and harmonic lattices. On the other hand, we show that a power-law-like scaling is the hallmark of local thermometry on gapless systems. Focusing on thermometry on one node of a harmonic lattice, we obtain valuable physical insight into the switching between the two types of scaling. In particular, we map the problem to an equivalent setup, consisting of a Brownian thermometer coupled to an equilibrium reservoir. This mapping allows us to prove that, surprisingly, the relative error of local thermometry on gapless harmonic lattices does not diverge as T → 0 ; rather, it saturates to a constant. As a useful by-product, we prove that the low- T sensitivity of a harmonic probe arbitrarily strongly coupled to a bosonic reservoir by means of a generic Ohmic interaction, always scales as T 2 for T → 0 . Our results thus identify the energy gap between the ground and first excited states of the global system as the key parameter in local thermometry, and ultimately provide clues to devising practical thermometric strategies deep in the ultracold regime.European Research CouncilCOST Actio

Internal dissipation and heat leaks in quantum thermodynamic cycles

This is the final version. Available from American Physical Society via the DOI in this recordThe direction of the steady-state heat currents across a generic quantum system connected to multiple baths may be engineered to realize virtually any thermodynamic cycle. In spite of their versatility, such continuous energy-conversion systems are generally unable to operate at maximum efficiency due to non-negligible sources of irreversible entropy production. In this paper we introduce a minimal model of irreversible absorption chiller. We identify and characterize the different mechanisms responsible for its irreversibility, namely heat leaks and internal dissipation, and gauge their relative impact in the overall cooling performance. We also propose reservoir engineering techniques to minimize these detrimental effects. Finally, by looking into a known three-qubit embodiment of the absorption cooling cycle, we illustrate how our simple model may help to pinpoint the different sources of irreversibility naturally arising in more complex practical heat devices.European UnionSpanish MINECOCOST Actio

Thermometry in the quantum regime: Recent theoretical progress

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from IOP Publishing via the DOI in this recordControlling and measuring the temperature in different devices and platforms that operate in the quantum regime is, without any doubt, essential for any potential application. In this review, we report the most recent theoretical developments dealing with accurate estimation of very low temperatures in quantum systems. Together with the emerging experimental techniques and developments of measurement protocols, the theory of quantum thermometry will decisively impinge and shape the forthcoming quantum technologies. While current quantum thermometric methods differ greatly depending on the experimental platform, the achievable precision, and the temperature range of interest, the theory of quantum thermometry is built under a unifying framework at the crossroads of quantum metrology, open quantum systems, and quantum many-body physics. At a fundamental level, theoretical quantum thermometry is concerned with finding the ultimate bounds and scaling laws that limit the precision of temperature estimation for systems in and out-of-thermal equilibrium. At a more practical level, it provides tools to formulate precise, yet feasible, thermometric protocols for relevant experimental architectures. Last but not least, the theory of quantum thermometry examines genuine quantum features, like entanglement and coherence, for their exploitation in enhanced-resolution thermometry.Spanish MINECOSevero OchoaGeneralitat de CatalunyaFundació Privada CellexEuropean Research CouncilUS National Science Foundatio

Gaussian tripartite entanglement out of equilibrium

This is the final version. Available from American Physical Society via the DOI in this recordThe stationary multipartite entanglement between three interacting harmonic oscillators subjected to decoherence is analyzed in the largely unexplored nonequilibrium strong dissipation regime. We compute the exact asymptotic Gaussian state of the system and elucidate its separability properties, qualitatively assessing the regions of the space of parameters in which fully inseparable states are generated. Interestingly, the sharing structure of bipartite entanglement is seen to degrade as dissipation increases even for very low temperatures, at which the system approaches its ground state. We also find that establishing stationary energy currents across the harmonic chain does not correspond with the buildup of biseparable steady states, which relates instead just to the relative intensity of thermal fluctuations.Spanish MICINNEuropean UnionCanary Islands Governmen

Efficiency of inefficient endoreversible thermal machines

We present a study of the performance of endoreversible thermal machines optimized with respect to the thermodynamic force associated with the cold bath in the regime of small thermodynamic forces. These thermal machines can work either as an engine or as a refrigerator. We analyze how the optimal performances are determined by the dependence of the thermodynamic flux on the forces. The results are motivated and illustrated with a quantum model, the three level maser, and explicit analytical expressions of the engine efficiency as a function of the system parameters are given

Performance bound for quantum absorption refrigerators

This is the final version. Available from American Physical Society via the DOI in this recordAn implementation of quantum absorption chillers with three qubits has been recently proposed that is ideally able to reach the Carnot performance regime. Here we study the working efficiency of such self-contained refrigerators, adopting a consistent treatment of dissipation effects. We demonstrate that the coefficient of performance at maximum cooling power is upper bounded by 3/4 of the Carnot performance. The result is independent of the details of the system and the equilibrium temperatures of the external baths. We provide design prescriptions that saturate the bound in the limit of a large difference between the operating temperatures. Our study suggests that delocalized dissipation, which must be taken into account for a proper modeling of the machine-baths interaction, is a fundamental source of irreversibility which prevents the refrigerator from approaching the Carnot performance arbitrarily closely in practice. The potential role of quantum correlations in the operation of these machines is also investigated.Spanish MICINNEuropean UnionCanary Islands GovernmentUniversity of Nottingha

Individual Quantum Probes for Optimal Thermometry

This is the final version. Available from American Physical Society via the DOI in this recordThe unknown temperature of a sample can be estimated with minimal disturbance by putting it in thermal contact with an individual quantum probe. If the interaction time is sufficiently long so that the probe thermalizes, the temperature can be read-out directly from its steady state. Here we prove that the optimal quantum probe, acting as a thermometer with maximal thermal sensitivity, is an effective two-level atom with a maximally degenerate excited state. When the total interaction time is insufficient to produce full thermalization, we optimize the estimation protocol by breaking it down into sequential stages of probe preparation, thermal contact, and measurement. We observe that frequently interrogated probes initialized in the ground state achieve the best performance. For both fully and partly thermalized thermometers, the sensitivity grows significantly with the number of levels, though optimization over their energy spectrum remains always crucial.Spanish MINECOEuropean UnionEuropean Regional Development FundCOST ActionGeneralitat de CatalunyaBrazilian CAPESFoundational Questions InstituteEuropean Research Counci