TOKYO, Feb. 28 -- Japan Science and Technology Agency issued the following press release:
(1) Background in the Research Field and Issues in Previous Studies
In practical situations concerning thermodynamic and quantum devices, a primary goal is achieving high-speed operation and low energetic costs. Recent advances in the thermodynamics of small-scale systems have revealed a universal trade-off between operation speed and energetic costs. Active research is exploring how quantum effects contribute to overcoming this trade-off relation. Notably, quantum heat engines that provide nonzero power output while asymptotically reaching the ideal Carnot efficiency-which is not possible for classical heat engines-have been discovered. Despite thes...