01252nas a2200133 4500008004100000245006000041210005600101260001500157520084400172100002201016700002401038700001901062856003701081 2018 eng d00aAn autonomous single-piston engine with a quantum rotor0 aautonomous singlepiston engine with a quantum rotor c2018/02/153 a
Pistons are elementary components of a wide variety of thermal engines, converting input fuel into rotational motion. Here, we propose a single-piston engine where the rotational degree of freedom is effectively realized by the flux of a superconducting island -- a quantum rotor -- while the working volume corresponds to the effective length of a superconducting resonator. Our autonomous design implements a Carnot cycle, relies solely on standard thermal baths and can be implemented with circuit quantum electrodynamics. We demonstrate how the piston is able to extract a net positive work via its built-in synchronicity using a filter cavity as an effective valve, eliminating the need for external control.
1 aRoulet, Alexandre1 aNimmrichter, Stefan1 aTaylor, J., M. uhttps://arxiv.org/abs/1802.05486