Universal quantum stirling-like engine under squeezed thermal baths

Abstract

This work explores a dinuclear metal complex model as a working substance of a universal Stirling-like cycle under two additional squeezed thermal baths. We demonstrate that the engine can operate in any of the four modes allowed by the Clausius inequality by adjusting the ratio between the working parameters and the squeezing factors. The recent advancements in generating squeezed states of light and mechanical oscillators have enabled the creation of squeezed thermal reservoirs. The performance of the heat engine and refrigerator modes is analyzed by efficiency and the coefficient of performance (\(\mathcal {C}\mathcal {O}\mathcal {P}\)) in terms of the ratio between the working parameters and squeezing factors. The study also shows that the performance of the engine can be improved by changing the squeezing factors of the thermal baths beyond the Carnot bound, while upholding the second law of thermodynamics. This suggests that customized interactions with squeezed thermal reservoirs could improve quantum heat engine performance, enhancing energy management in quantum technologies and nanoscale systems.