Fundamentals and applications of heat currents in quantum systems

Abstract

The growing field of quantum thermodynamics has attracted much attention in the last two decades. The possibility of exploiting quantum features in thermal machines led to exciting avenues both from fundamental and application perspectives. For instance, in the presence of non-thermal baths, a quantum heat engine may surpass the classical Carnot limit. On the other hand, heat flow puts severe restrictions on the miniaturization of technologies based on quantum features. It is of paramount importance to look for efficient methods of heat management in the quantum system. One promising direction can be employing heat for powering these devices rather than considering the heat flow as noise. In this chapter, we briefly overview such strategies proposed for efficient heat flow management in the recent past. In particular, we present some of the developments in quantum thermal diodes, thermal transistors, and quantum thermal entanglement machines. In addition, some discussion on the particular models of quantum heat engines and quantum absorption refrigerators is presented. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024.