title: Efficiency and its bounds for a quantum Einstein engine at maximum power.
abstract: We study a quantum thermal engine model for which the heat transfer law is determined by Einstein's theory of radiation. The working substance of the quantum engine is assumed to be a two-level quantum system of which the constituent particles obey Maxwell-Boltzmann (MB), Fermi-Dirac (FD), or Bose-Einstein (BE) distributions, respectively, at equilibrium. The thermal efficiency and its bounds at maximum power of these models are derived and discussed in the long and short thermal contact time limits. The similarity and difference between these models are discussed. We also compare the efficiency bounds of this quantum thermal engine to those of its classical counterpart.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Indiana University/IUCF, 2401 Milo B Sampson Lane, Bloomington, Indiana 47408, USA.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D004735:Energy Transfer; D015233:Models, Statistical; D011789:Quantum Theory; D013816:Thermodynamics