A single-atom heat engine

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We report the experimental realization of a single-atom heat engine. An ion is confined in a linear Paul trap with tapered geometry and driven thermally by coupling it alternately to hot and cold reservoirs. The output power of the engine is used to drive a harmonic oscillation. From direct measurements of the ion dynamics, we determine the thermodynamic cycles for various temperature differences of the reservoirs. We use these cycles to evaluate power P and efficiency η of the engine, obtaining up to P=342yJ and η=0.28 %, consistent with analytical estimations. Our results demonstrate that thermal machines can be reduced to the ultimate limit of single atoms.