Extraction of Ergotropy: Free Energy Bound and Application to Open Cycle Engines

Explore the concept of ergotropy and its role in microscopic systems through this comprehensive lecture. Delve into the quantification of ergotropy induced by a system's interaction with a thermal bath, and discover the fundamental bound on the amount of ergotropy extractable from the environment. Examine how this bound relates to non-equilibrium free energy difference and its saturation in infinite-dimensional systems. Investigate the numerical analysis of ergotropy extraction processes in finite-dimensional systems. Learn about the application of ergotropy extraction in the design of open-cycle engines, a new class of stroke heat engines. Gain insights into the optimization of efficiency and work production for these machines in systems of varying dimensions. Understand the parallels between ergotropy in microscopic scenarios and the role of free energy change in macroscopic systems as described by the second law of thermodynamics.