Converting heat into directed transport on a tilted lattice

Abstract

We present a self-contained engine, which is made of one or more two-level systems, each of which is coupled to a single bath, as well as to a common load composed of a particle on a tilted lattice. We show that the energy and the entropy absorbed by the spins are transferred to the particle thus setting it into upward motion at an average constant speed, even when driven by a single spin connected to a single bath. When considering an ensemble of different spins, the velocity of the particle is larger when the tilt is on resonance with any of the spins' energy splitting. Interestingly, we find regimes where the spins' polarization enters periodic cycles with the oscillation period being determined by the tilt of the lattice.