Autonomous thermal machine for amplification and control of energetic coherence

Abstract

We present a model for an autonomous quantum thermal machine comprised of two qubits capable of manipulating and even amplifying the local coherence in a non-degenerate external system. The machine uses only thermal resources, namely, contact with two heat baths at different temperatures, and the external system has a non-zero initial amount of coherence. The method we propose allows for an interconversion between energy, both work and heat, and coherence in an autonomous configuration working in out-of-equilibrium conditions. This model raises interesting questions about the role of fundamental limitations on transformations involving coherence and opens up new possibilities in the manipulation of coherence by autonomous thermal machines.

v1: 5 + 3 pages, 2 figures. v2: Restructured version with several new results and a new appendix, 11 + 14 pages, 4 + 3 figures. v3: Improved and corrected version with new discussions, 8 + 8 pages, 4 + 3 figures