Nonlinear refrigerator with a finite-sized cold heat bath

Abstract

We study the refrigerator working between a finite-sized cold heat bath and an infinite-sized hot heat bath (environment) in the nonlinear response regime. We assume that the initial temperature $T_i$ of the finite-sized cold heat bath satisfies $T_i\leq T_h$, where $T_h$ is the temperature of the hot heat bath. By consuming the input power, the refrigerator transfers the heat from a finite-sized cold heat bath to the hot heat bath. Hence, the temperature of the finite-sized cold heat bath decreases until it reaches the desired low-temperature $T_f$. By minimizing the input work for the heat transport process, we derive the optimal path for temperature change. We calculate the coefficient of performance as a function of average input power. We also obtain the bounds for the coefficient of performance by applying the asymmetric dissipation limits.