Multi-stage quantum absorption heat pumps

Abstract: It is well known that heat pumps, while being all limited by the same basic thermodynamic laws, may find realization on systems as "small" and "quantum" as a three-level maser. In order to quantitatively assess how the performance of these devices scales with their size, we design generalized $N$-dimensional ideal heat pumps by merging $N-2$ elementary three-level stages. We set them to operate in the absorption chiller mode between given hot and cold baths, and study their maximum achievable cooling power and the corresponding efficiency as a function of $N$. While the efficiency at maximum power is roughly size-independent, the power itself slightly increases with the dimension, quickly saturating to a constant. Thus, interestingly, scaling up autonomous quantum heat pumps does not render a significant enhancement beyond the optimal double-stage configuration.