Single-Ion Heat Engine at Maximum Power

Author/Creator ORCID

Date

2012-11-14

Department

Program

Citation of Original Publication

O. Abah et al., Single-Ion Heat Engine at Maximum Power, Phys. Rev. Lett. 109(20) (2012), DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.203006

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© 2012 American Physical Society

Subjects

Abstract

We propose an experimental scheme to realize a nanoheat engine with a single ion. An Otto cycle may be implemented by confining the ion in a linear Paul trap with tapered geometry and coupling it to engineered laser reservoirs. The quantum efficiency at maximum power is analytically determined in various regimes. Moreover, Monte Carlo simulations of the engine are performed that demonstrate its feasibility and its ability to operate at a maximum efficiency of 30% under realistic conditions.