Different proposals for adiabatic quantum motors (AQMs) driven by DC currents have recently attracted considerable interest. However, the systems studied are often based on simplified models with highly ideal conditions where the environment is neglected. Here, we investigate the performance (dynamics, efficiency, and output power) of a prototypical AQM, the Thouless motor. To include the effect of the surroundings on this type of AQMs, we extended our previous theory of decoherence in current-induced forces (CIFs) to account for spatially distributed decoherent processes. We provide analytical expressions that account for decoherence in CIFs, friction coefficients, and the self-correlation functions of the CIFs. We prove that the model is thermodynamically consistent, and we find that decoherence drastically reduces the efficiency of the motor mainly due to the increase in conductance, while its effect on the output power is not much relevant. The effect of decoherence on the current-induced friction depends on the length of the system, reducing the friction for small systems while increasing it for long ones. Finally, we find that reflections of the electrons at the boundary of the system induce additional conservative forces that affect the dynamics of the motor. In particular, this results in the hysteresis of the system and a voltage dependent switching.

• Received 29 December 2016
• Revised 16 March 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.95.155410