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Finite-time thermal refrigerator in interacting Bose-Einstein condensates

Joaquín I. Ganly1,*, Julián Amette Estrada1,2,†, Franco Mayo1,3,‡, Augusto J. Roncaglia1,3,§, and Pablo D. Mininni1,2,∥

  • *Contact author: ganlyjoaquin@gmail.com
  • †Contact author: julianamette@df.uba.ar
  • ‡Contact author: fmayo@df.uba.ar
  • §Contact author: augusto@df.uba.ar
  • ∥Contact author: mininni@df.uba.ar
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Phys. Rev. A 114, 013315 – Published 17 July, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/89ff-kqdy

Abstract

We study a finite-time thermodynamic refrigeration cycle realized numerically in three-dimensional, weakly interacting Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs). The setup consists of three spatially separated condensates (system, piston, and reservoir) coupled through time-dependent potential barriers that implement compression, expansion, and contact strokes. Finite-temperature initial states are generated with the Stochastic Ginzburg-Landau equation, and the subsequent dynamics are evolved using the truncated Gross-Pitaevskii equation. To measure temperatures we use a momentum-space thermometry method that provides estimates for each condensate. We find that despite mass transfer and sound excitations, the protocol achieves successful cooling during consecutive cycles: the first cycle lowers its temperature by 20% and a second cycle yields additional, though reduced, cooling, reaching a final 27% cooling from the initial state. Our results show that interacting BECs can sustain finite-time quantum thermal cycles under realistic conditions and provide a platform for exploring different refrigeration schemes, optimized control protocols, and shortcuts to adiabaticity.

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Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. A 114, 013315– Published 17 July, 2026
  • Received 13 March 2026
  • Accepted 6 July 2026
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