A quantum heat engine that simultaneously provides work and refrigeration

The laws of thermodynamics state that heat naturally flows from hotter systems or regions to colder systems or regions until a state of thermal equilibrium is reached. The science-journalism coverage adds useful context, while the strongest evidential footing still comes from the underlying data, papers or institutional documentation.

That matters because physics only takes a result seriously when the measurement chain remains robust under scrutiny. Experimental particle physics and precision metrology both operate in regimes where the signal sits far below the background noise, and where systematic uncertainties can mimic new physics if not controlled rigorously. The history of the field contains numerous anomalies that generated theoretical excitement before better data showed them to be artifacts, and it also contains genuine discoveries that were initially dismissed as noise. The difference is almost always resolved by independent replication with different instruments and different systematics. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Researchers at Qufu Normal University, the University of Hong Kong and the University of Palermo recently observed an anomalous thermal effect that allows a quantum system to.

This unusual effect, outlined in a paper in Physical Review Letters, was leveraged to develop a new quantum heat engine that simultaneously produces work (i. The researchers subsequently designed a new quantum Otto engine, a device that converts heat into useful work.

We experimentally realized both the anomalous flow and the engine on a photonic platform, obtaining results that fully confirm our theoretical predictions," Man explained. First, we identified a new form of anomalous heat flow, showing that quantum coherence can fundamentally alter the way heat is exchanged between systems," said Giulio Chiribella.

In the future, the team's design and the anomalous heat flow they reported could be used to develop other promising quantum technologies that manipulate heat and energy in. While the engine introduced in the recent paper is still a proof of principle, it could potentially open new avenues for cooling quantum processors and managing heat in quantum.

The broader interest lies as much in the method as in the headline number, because a durable measurement procedure can travel farther than a single result. When experimental physicists develop a technique that achieves new sensitivity or controls a previously uncharacterized systematic, that methodological contribution persists even if the specific measurement is later revised. This is one reason why precision physics experiments often generate long-term value that is not immediately visible in the original publication.

We rely on readers like you to keep independent science journalism alive. Qing-Feng Xue et al, Anomalous Heat Flows and Quantum Otto Engine with (In)definite Causal Order, Physical Review Letters (2026).

Because this item comes through Phys. org Physics as science journalism, it should be treated as contextual reporting rather than primary evidence. Good science reporting can identify why a result matters, connect it to the wider literature and make technical work readable, but the decisive evidence remains in the original paper, dataset, mission release or technical record. That distinction is especially important when a story is later repeated by aggregators, because repetition increases visibility, not evidential strength.

The next step is more measurement, tighter systematic control and scrutiny from groups whose experimental setups are genuinely independent. In experimental particle physics and precision metrology, the threshold for a discovery claim is a five-sigma excess surviving multiple analyses; an intriguing signal at lower significance is a reason to run more experiments, not a reason to revise the textbooks. Next-generation experiments currently under construction or commissioning will revisit several of the open questions that give the current result its context.

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