Monitoring quantum Otto engines

Abstract

In this talk, I will introduce a method, known as repeated contacts, that allows us to infer the sum of the values of an observable taken during contacts with a pointer state. I will first show the superiority of this approach with the results of the same number of generalized Gaussian measurements of the considered observable. The proposed repeated contact approach could be beneficial to measure the work output of a quantum Otto heat engine and I'll demonstrate this using a two-level system as the working substance. I'll discuss the imperfect thermalizing engine under Landau-Zener work strokes and show that the repeated contact scheme is minimally invasive and gives enhanced performance metrics (efficiency, power output, and reliability) as compared to the standard repeated generalized Gaussian measurements. Overall, I'll show the importance of considering the effects of quantum measurements using different measurement protocols on the performance of a machine.