On the thermodynamics of the difference between energy transfer rate and heat engine efficiency

We study the difference between the energy transfer rate and the engine efficiency with a microscopic model, widely used in the theoretical description of solar cells, as well as in light-harvesting systems. We show no violation of the second law of thermodynamics by correctly assessing the useful o...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The European physical journal. ST, Special topics Special topics, 2021-06, Vol.230 (4), p.867-871
Main Authors: Dong, H., Ghosh, A., Kim, M. B., Li, S.-W., Svidzinsky, A. A., Zhang, Z., Kurizki, G., Scully, M. O.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atomic
Classical and Continuum Physics
Condensed Matter Physics
Energy conversion efficiency
Energy transfer
Heat engines
Materials Science
Measurement Science and Instrumentation
Molecular
Non-Equilibrium Systems and Foundations of Quantum Physics
Optical and Plasma Physics
Photovoltaic cells
Physics
Physics and Astronomy
Regular Article
Solar cells
Thermodynamics
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We study the difference between the energy transfer rate and the engine efficiency with a microscopic model, widely used in the theoretical description of solar cells, as well as in light-harvesting systems. We show no violation of the second law of thermodynamics by correctly assessing the useful output work, even with the simple model treating the later work conversion as a simple “sink”.
ISSN:1951-6355
1951-6401
DOI:10.1140/epjs/s11734-021-00091-3