TY - JOUR
T1 - Underdamped stochastic heat engine at maximum efficiency
AU - Dechant, A.
AU - Kiesel, N.
AU - Lutz, E.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was partially supported by the EU Collaborative Project TherMiQ (Grant Agreement 618074), the COST Action MP1209 and KAKENHI (No. 15F15324). AD was partially employed as an International Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. NK acknowledges support from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF): AY0095221, START.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 EPLA.
PY - 2017/9
Y1 - 2017/9
N2 - We investigate the performance of an underdamped stochastic heat engine, using the paradigmatic model of a harmonic oscillator with time-dependent frequency. We analytically determine the optimal protocol that maximizes the efficiency at fixed power. The maximum efficiency reduces to the Curzon-Ahlborn formula at maximum power and to the Carnot formula at zero power. We establish that the efficiency at maximum power is universally given by the Curzon-Ahlborn efficiency for weak damping. We further show that even small deviations from operation at maximum power results in a significantly increased efficiency.
AB - We investigate the performance of an underdamped stochastic heat engine, using the paradigmatic model of a harmonic oscillator with time-dependent frequency. We analytically determine the optimal protocol that maximizes the efficiency at fixed power. The maximum efficiency reduces to the Curzon-Ahlborn formula at maximum power and to the Carnot formula at zero power. We establish that the efficiency at maximum power is universally given by the Curzon-Ahlborn efficiency for weak damping. We further show that even small deviations from operation at maximum power results in a significantly increased efficiency.
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U2 - 10.1209/0295-5075/119/50003
DO - 10.1209/0295-5075/119/50003
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85039998230
VL - 119
JO - EPL
JF - EPL
SN - 0295-5075
IS - 5
M1 - 50003
ER -