Work measurement in an optomechanical quantum heat engine

preprint2015arXivOpen access

Abstract

We analyze theoretically the measurement of the mean output work and its fluctuations in a recently proposed optomechanical quantum heat engine [K. Zhang {\it et al.} Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf112}, 150602 (2014)]. After showing that this work can be evaluated by a continuous measurements of the intracavity photon number we discuss both dispersive and absorptive measurement schemes and analyze their back-action effects on the efficiency of the engine. Both measurements are found to reduce the efficiency of the engine, but their back-action is both qualitatively and quantitatively different. For dispersive measurements the efficiency decreases as a result of the mixing of photonic and phononic excitations, while for absorptive measurements, its reduction results from photon losses due to the interaction with the quantum probe.

Explore this paper’s authors, topics and related work.

Building this map preview

BZPEER is loading the nearby papers, people, topics and institutions for this page.

Reviews 0

Write a reviewWrite

No reviews yet.

Discussion 0

Add a commentWrite

No comments yet.