Work extraction from heat-powered quantized optomechanical setups

Abstract: We analyze work extraction from an autonomous (self-contained) heat-powered optomechanical setup. The initial state of the quantized mechanical oscillator plays a key role. As the initial mean amplitude of the oscillator decreases, the resulting efficiency increases. In contrast to laser-powered self-induced oscillations, work extraction from a broadband heat bath does not require coherence or phase-locking: an initial phase-averaged coherent state of the oscillator still yields work, as opposed to an initial Fock-state.