Efficiency Statistics of a Quantum Otto Cycle

The stochastic efficiency [G. Verley et al., Nat. Commun. 5, 4721 (2014)] was introduced to evaluate the performance of energy-conversion machines in microscale. However, such an efficiency generally diverges when no heat is absorbed while work is produced in a thermodynamic cycle. As a result, any statistical moments of the efficiency do not exist. In this study, we come up with a different version of the definition for the stochastic efficiency (called the scaled fluctuating efficiency) which is always finite. Its mean value is equal to the conventional efficiency and higher moments characterize the fluctuations of the cycle. In addition, the fluctuation theorems are reexpressed via the efficiency. For working substance satisfying the equipartition theorem, we clarify that the thermodynamic uncertainty relation for the scaled fluctuating efficiency is valid in an Otto engine. To demonstrate our general discussions, the efficiency statistics of a quantum harmonic-oscillator Otto engine is systematically investigated. The probability that the scaled fluctuating efficiency surpasses the Carnot efficiency is explicitly obtained. This work may shed new insight for optimizing micromachines with fluctuations.

Physical Review A