Magneto-strain-driven quantum engine on a graphene flake

Abstract

We propose a novel conceptual design for a graphene-based quantum engine, driven by a superposition of mechanical strain and an external magnetic field. Engineering of strain in a nanoscale graphene flake creates a gauge field with an associated uniform pseudo-magnetic field. The strain-induced pseudo-magnetic field can be combined with a real magnetic field, leading to the emergence of discrete relativistic Landau levels within the single-particle picture. The inter-level distance and hence their statistical population can be modulated by quasi-statically tuning the magnetic field along a sequence of reversible transformations that constitute a quantum mechanical analogue of the classical Otto cycle.