Adiabatic quantum motor

The adjective “adiabatic” in this context refers to the limit when the dynamics of the mechanical degrees of freedom is slow compared with the dwell time of the particles passing through the device.

In this regime, it is commonly assumed that the mechanical degrees of freedom behave classically.

This class of devices works essentially as quantum pumps operated in reverse.

One key feature of these motors is that quantum interferences can be used to increase their efficiency by enhancing the reflection coefficient of the scattered particles.

Although there are several proposals for the realization of adiabatic quantum motors, none of them have been verified experimentally.