A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Steering Heat Engines: A Truly Quantum Maxwell Demon
Authors: Beyer K, Luoma K, Strunz WT
Publisher: AMER PHYSICAL SOC
Publication year: 2019
Journal:: Physical Review Letters
Journal name in source: PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS
Journal acronym: PHYS REV LETT
Article number: ARTN 250606
Volume: 123
Issue: 25
Number of pages: 6
ISSN: 0031-9007
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.250606
Abstract
We address the question of verifying the quantumness of thermal machines. A Szilard engine is truly quantum if its work output cannot be described by a local hidden state model, i.e., an objective local statistical ensemble. Quantumness in this scenario is revealed by a steering-type inequality which bounds the classically extractable work. A quantum Maxwell demon can violate that inequality by exploiting quantum correlations between the work medium and the thermal environment. While for a classical Szilard engine an objective description of the medium always exists, any such description can be ruled out by a steering task in a truly quantum case.
We address the question of verifying the quantumness of thermal machines. A Szilard engine is truly quantum if its work output cannot be described by a local hidden state model, i.e., an objective local statistical ensemble. Quantumness in this scenario is revealed by a steering-type inequality which bounds the classically extractable work. A quantum Maxwell demon can violate that inequality by exploiting quantum correlations between the work medium and the thermal environment. While for a classical Szilard engine an objective description of the medium always exists, any such description can be ruled out by a steering task in a truly quantum case.
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