Issue |
EPL
Volume 111, Number 2, July 2015
|
|
---|---|---|
Article Number | 20006 | |
Number of page(s) | 6 | |
Section | General | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075/111/20006 | |
Published online | 18 August 2015 |
Quantum-mechanical engines working with an ideal gas with a finite number of particles confined in a power-law trap
1 Department of Physics, Nanchang University - Nanchang 330031, China
2 State Key Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100190, China
3 State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics and Department of Physics, Fudan University - Shanghai 200433, China
Received: 13 May 2015
Accepted: 22 July 2015
Based on quantum thermodynamic processes, we make a quantum-mechanical (QM) extension of the typical heat engine cycles, such as the Carnot, Brayton, Otto, Diesel cycles, etc., with no introduction of the concept of temperature. When these QM engine cycles are implemented by an ideal gas confined in an arbitrary power-law trap, a relation between the quantum adiabatic exponent and trap exponent is found. The differences and similarities between the efficiency of a given QM engine cycle and its classical counterpart are revealed and discussed.
PACS: 05.70.-a – Thermodynamics / 03.65.-w – Quantum mechanics / 51.30.+i – Thermodynamic properties, equations of state
© EPLA, 2015
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