Revealing the work cost of generalized thermal baths

Abstract

We derive the work cost of using generalized thermal baths from the physical equivalence of quantum mechanics under unitary transformations. We demonstrate our method by considering a qubit extracting work from a single bath to amplify a cavity field. There, we find that only half of the work investment is converted into useful output, the rest being wasted as heat. These findings establish the method as a promising tool for studying quantum resources within the framework of classical thermodynamics.

arXiv comment5 pages, 4 figures

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Cited by in corpus (3)

• Quantum thermal absorption machines: refrigerators, engines and clocks
• Efficiency of a quantum Otto heat engine operating under a reservoir at effective negative temperatures
• Performance bounds of non-adiabatic quantum harmonic Otto engine and refrigerator under a squeezed thermal reservoir