Nontraditional Quantum Heat Engine with Cold Atoms

ORAL

Abstract

We demonstrated a nontraditional quantum heat engine (QHE) with laser cooled $^{\mathrm{85}}$Rb atoms basing on electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), following a recent proposal by S. E. Harris [Phys. Rev. A~94, 053859 (2016)]. Making use of the EIT-induced atomic coherence, we experimentally show that the directional radiation output from the QHE can have a spectral brightness 9 times higher than that of the ambient pumping reservoir, while there is no gain within the system. Our results violate detailed balance and Kirchhoff's law and may also be viewed as an early demonstration of a nontraditional coherence-based QHE.

*The work was supported by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (Project No. 16305615) and in part by the CAS/SAFEA International Partnership Program for Creative Research Teams.

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Authors

  • Yue Jiang

    • Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

  • Yueyang Zou

    • Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

  • Yefeng Mei

    • The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
    • Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

  • Xianxin Guo

    • The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
    • Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

  • Shengwang Du

    • The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
    • Hong Kong University of Science and Technology