Quantum Work from a Pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonian

Abstract

In this work, we study the thermodynamics of a hybrid system based on the Da Providencia–Schütte Hamiltonian. The model consists of bosons, i.e., photons in a cavity, interacting with an ensemble of spins through a pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonian. We compute the exact partition function of the system, and from it, we derive the statistical properties of the system. Finally, we evaluate the work that can be extracted from the system by performing an Otto cycle and discuss the advantages of the proposed pseudo-Hermitian interaction.

Keywords

• non-Hermitian dynamics
• pseudo-hermicity
• quantum work
• Da Providencia–Schütte model