Bath Engineering Enhanced Quantum Critical Engines.

Driving a quantum system across quantum critical points leads to non-adiabatic excitations in the system. This in turn may adversely affect the functioning of a quantum machine which uses a quantum critical substance as its working medium. Here we propose a (BEQE), in which we use the Kibble-Zurek mechanism and critical scaling laws to formulate a protocol for enhancing the performance of finite-time quantum engines operating close to quantum phase transitions.