Optimal finite-time heat engines under constrained control

Abstract

We optimize finite-time stochastic heat engines with a periodically scaled Hamiltonian under experimentally motivated constraints on the bath temperature $T$ and the scaling parameter $\lambda$. We present a general geometric proof that maximum-efficiency protocols for $T$ and $\lambda$ are piecewise constant, alternating between the maximum and minimum allowed values. When $\lambda$ is restricted to a small range and the system is close to equilibrium at the ends of the isotherms, a similar argument shows that this protocol also maximizes output power. These results are valid for arbitrary dynamics. We illustrate them for an overdamped Brownian heat engine, which can experimentally be realized using optical tweezers with stiffness $\lambda$.