Fundamental aspects of steady state heat to work conversion

Abstract

We review theoretical approaches to analyzing efficiency of steady state heat to work conversion which is crucial in the timely problem of optimizing efficiency of small-scale heat engines and refrigerators. A rather abstract perspective of non-equilibrium statistical mechanics and dynamical system's theory is taken to view at this very practical problem. Several recently discovered general mechanisms of optimizing the figure of merit of thermoelectric efficiency are discussed, also in connection to breaking time-reversal symmetry of the microscopic equations of motion. Applications of these theoretical and mathematical ideas to practically relevant models are pointed out.

Review paper, 28 pages, 9 figures

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• The power of a critical heat engine
• Quantum heat engine based on photon-assisted Cooper pair tunneling
• Thermoelectricity without absorbing energy from the heat sources
• From thermal rectifiers to thermoelectric devices
• Quantum coherent three-terminal thermoelectrics: maximum efficiency at given power output
• The thermoelectric working fluid: thermodynamics and transport
• Thermoelectric properties of a strongly correlated layer
• Thermodynamics of Mesoscopic Quantum Systems