Quantum Otto engine with quantum correlations

Abstract: We theoretically prose and investigate a photo-Otto engine that is working with a single-mode radiation field inside an optical cavity and alternatively driven by a hot and a cold reservoir, where the hot reservoir is realized by sending one of a pair of correlated two-level atoms to pass through the optical cavity, and the cold one is made of a collection of noninteracting boson modes. In terms of the quantum discord of the pair of atoms, we derive the analytical expressions for the performance parameters (power and efficiency) and stability measure (coefficient of variation for power). We show that quantum discord boosts the performance and efficiency of the quantum engine, and even may change the operation mode. We also demonstrate that quantum discord improves the stability of machine by decreasing the coefficient of variation for power which satisfies the generalized thermodynamic uncertainty relation. Finally, we find that these results can be transferred to another photo-Otto engine model, where the optical cavity is alternatively coupled to a hot thermal bosonic bath and to a beam of pairs of the two correlated atoms that play the role of a cold reservoir.