Researchers David Christian Ohnmacht, Wolfgang Belzig, and Juan Carlos Cuevas from the University of Regensburg in Germany have published a study that explores the role of charge in thermodynamic uncertainty relations (TURs), shedding light on how these fundamental principles apply to energy transport at the quantum level.
Thermodynamic uncertainty relations are fundamental principles that set limits on the precision of energy and particle transport in physical systems. The researchers found that the charge value of transport mechanisms significantly impacts the validity of these relations. Specifically, they demonstrated that the recently established quantum TUR can be violated when transport processes carry more than one charge, such as in Andreev reflection processes observed in normal metal-superconductor junctions.
To address this, the team proposed a modified quantum TUR that incorporates the charge value. They showed that this charge-dependent quantum TUR can only be violated if the highest charge transport process exceeds this charge value. Importantly, their analytical considerations do not rely on the existence of superconductivity and are generally applicable to non-interacting electronic transport described by the scattering formalism.
The findings highlight the importance of considering charge values in the application of thermodynamic uncertainty relations to quantum transport processes. This understanding could have practical implications for the energy sector, particularly in the development of advanced energy conversion and storage technologies that operate at the quantum level. For instance, it could aid in the design of more efficient nanoscale devices and systems that harness quantum effects for energy transport and management.
The research was published in the journal Physical Review Letters.
This article is based on research available at arXiv.