Performance characteristics of a micro-Brownian refrigerator in a one-dimensional lattice

Abstract

Particle hopping on a one-dimensional lattice driven by an external force in a periodic sawtooth potential and temperature field may act as a micro-Brownian refrigerator. In order to clarify the underlying physical pictures of the refrigerator, heat flows via both the potential energy and the kinetic energy of the particle are considered simultaneously. Based on the master equation describing the jump of the particle among the three states, expressions for the cooling rate and the coefficient of performance of the refrigerator are derived analytically. The general performance characteristic curves are plotted by numerical calculation. It is found that the characteristic curve between the cooling rate and the coefficient of performance is a loop-shaped one; the Brownian refrigerator is irreversible and its coefficient of performance is always less than the Carnot value. The influence of the temperature ratio of the heat reservoirs and the height of the sawtooth potential on the optimal performance characteristic parameters is analyzed. When heat flow via the kinetic energy of the particle is neglected, the characteristic curve between the cooling rate and the coefficient of performance is an open-shaped one. In this case, the Brownian refrigerator is reversible and its coefficient of performance reaches the Carnot value in the quasistatic limit.