Geometric Heat Engines Featuring Power that Grows with Efficiency

O. Raz, Y. Subaşı, and R. Pugatch
Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 160601 – Published 21 April 2016
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Abstract

Thermodynamics places a limit on the efficiency of heat engines, but not on their output power or on how the power and efficiency change with the engine’s cycle time. In this Letter, we develop a geometrical description of the power and efficiency as a function of the cycle time, applicable to an important class of heat engine models. This geometrical description is used to design engine protocols that attain both the maximal power and maximal efficiency at the fast driving limit. Furthermore, using this method, we also prove that no protocol can exactly attain the Carnot efficiency at nonzero power.

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  • Received 26 November 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.160601

© 2016 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Statistical Physics & ThermodynamicsCondensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

O. Raz1,*, Y. Subaşı1,†, and R. Pugatch2,‡

  • 1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
  • 2Simons Center for Systems Biology, School of Natural Sciences, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey 08540, USA

  • *orenraz@gmail.com
  • ysubasi@umd.edu
  • rami.pugatch@gmail.com

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Issue

Vol. 116, Iss. 16 — 22 April 2016

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