Irreversible efficiency and Carnot theorem for heat engines operating with multiple heat baths in linear response regime

Abstract: The Carnot theorem, one expression of the second law of thermodynamics, places a fundamental upper bound on the efficiency of heat engines operating between two heat baths. The Carnot theorem can be stated in a more generalized form for heat engines operating with multiple heat baths, where the maximum efficiency is achieved for reversible heat engines operating quasistatically between two heat baths. In this study, we determine the irreversible efficiency of heat engines operating with multiple heat baths in a linear response regime, i.e., under small temperature differences and a slow variation of the control parameters, by quantifying the impact of the dissipation by irreversible operations. The Carnot theorem is derived as a natural consequence of it. Because the result obtained is based on the linear response relation and fluctuation-dissipation theorem in the universal framework of linear response theory, it has wide applicability to irreversible heat engines operating in the linear response regime.