Qubits as valves: Controlling quantum heat engines

Science Daily  July 9, 2018 Researchers in Finland assembled a miniature heat valve in a quantum system composed of a superconducting qubit to study heat transport. Using a qubit controlled by a magnetic field as a “valve,” they could either block or release the flow of photons carrying the heat through the qubit between two “heat baths” formed of metallic resistors. They aim to understand, combining experimental and theoretical efforts, how quantum refrigerators and heat engines work. This effort would ultimately bridge the gap between the fields of quantum information and thermodynamics of mesoscopic systems… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE