Extreme-temperature single-particle heat engine

Abstract

There are many exotic thermodynamic processes that are hard to study in nature. Here, we synthesize a structured environment to explore the extremes of thermodynamics. We present an engine running at extreme temperatures of above ten Mega-Kelvin. Our underdamped engine is realised by electrically levitating and controlling a charged microparticle in vacuum. Giant fluctuations are observed in the engine's heat exchange with the environment, while its efficiency shows stochastic events where more work is performed by the engine than heat consumed. Moreover, the non-uniformity of the synthetic environment leads to the particle experiencing position dependent diffusion, a critical phenomenon in microscale biological processes. We theoretically account for the effects of multiplicative noise and find excellent agreement with the observed behavior.