Exploring quantum advantages in thermodynamics with superconducting circuits

Project funded by Swedish Research Council (Grant for positions or stipends), grant 2021-05624_VR. Participating organisations named by the source: Chalmers University of Technology. Funded amount: SEK 4,000,000, as stated by the source. Runs 2022-01-01 to 2025-12-31. Keywords: Naturvetenskap, Natural Sciences, Fysik, Physical Sciences, Atom- och molekylfysik och optik, Atom and Molecular Physics and Optics. Source: OpenAIRE Graph, from the funder's project data (collected by OpenAIRE on 2025-12-05); national funding data, not CORDIS. Abstract given by the source: The technology advances of the last decades are forcing us to re-think the concepts of thermodynamics. An intense theoretical effort is underway to understand the role of quantum mechanical ingredients in thermodynamic processes. However, experimental progress is hindered by a lack of comprehensive experimental platforms for quantum thermal machines. Here I aim to undertake an ambitious experimental search for quantum advantages in thermodynamics, based on a circuit quantum electrodynamics (QED) architecture. First, I will demonstrate the use of propagating microwave modes in waveguides as heat baths. In this arrangement, the heat exchanged by the baths can be measured with great accuracy and deep in the quantum regime. Then I will implement two types of novel quantum refrigerators. The refrigerators comprise small ensembles of superconducting quantum bits (from 2 up to 6) and are coupled to a hot and a cold heat bath. Each refrigerator is designed to pinpoint a specific quantum resource, either quantum coherence, or collective effects. I will measure the cooling power of the refrigerators while in situ exploring an unprecedently large space of parameters. I expect two scientific breakthroughs: the observation of unambiguously nonclassical features in thermodynamic observables and the determination of advantages enjoyed by quantum thermal machines. This work will deepen our understanding of quantum thermodynamics while establishing a new standard for experiments in the field.

Original source.

Source: OpenAIRE Graph: projects of national funders, OpenAIRE, from the project data of Swedish Research Council. Retrieved 2026-10-22. Licence: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (OpenAIRE Graph). Selected metadata, adapted presentation; the publisher's record is authoritative. No endorsement by the source is implied. Licence: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).

AI-assisted summary: The project "Exploring quantum advantages in thermodynamics with superconducting circuits" is funded by the Swedish Research Council with SEK 4,000,000 from 2022 to 2025. It involves Chalmers University of Technology and focuses on experimental advancements in quantum thermodynamics. Suggested technology pillar: simulation. Generated by AI from the public source text; it may contain errors and the original source is authoritative.