Quantum thermodynamics

Macroscopic thermodynamics was developed for very practical reasons, namely, to understand the fundamental limits of converting heat into useful work. At atomic scales and low temperatures, quantum mechanics takes over, and raises a range of new and fascinating questions. With the recent progress in fabricating nano-devices, these questions triggered substantial research activities, both to understand fundamental physics and to provide predictions for actual implementations.

Our group has a long-standing expertise in exploring open quantum systems beyond perturbative regimes (weak coupling), analytically as well as numerically. We use and further develop these techniques to address fundamental issues such as finite-time operations of quantum engines, correlations between work medium and thermal reservoirs, or the role of coherences and entanglement in quantum thermal devices. This is done in close collaborations with experimental groups from atomic and solid state physics.