Search

We introduce a cyclic quantum battery model, based on an interacting bipartite system, weakly coupled to a thermal bath. The working cycle of the battery consists of four strokes: system thermalization, disconnection of subsystems, ergotropy extraction, and reconnection. The thermal bath acts as a charger in the thermalization stroke, while ergotropy extraction is possible because the ensuing thermal state is no longer passive after the disconnection stroke. Focusing on the case of two interacting qubits, we show that phase coherence, in the presence of non-trivial correlations between the qubits, can be exploited to reach working regimes with efficiency higher than 50% while providing finite ergotropy. Our protocol is illustrated through a simple and feasible circuit model of a cyclic superconducting quantum battery. Furthermore, we simulate the considered cycle on superconducting IBM quantum machines. The good agreement between the theoretical and simulated results strongly suggests that our scheme for cyclic quantum batteries can be successfully realized in superconducting quantum hardware., Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures

Fluctuations affect the functionality of nanodevices. Thermodynamic uncertainty relations (TURs), derived within the framework of stochastic thermodynamics, show that a minimal amount of dissipation is required to obtain a given relative energy current dispersion, that is, current precision has a thermodynamic cost. It is therefore of great interest to explore the possibility that TURs are violated, particularly for quantum systems, leading to accurate currents at lower cost. Here, we show that two quantum harmonic oscillators are synchronized by coupling to a common thermal environment, at strong dissipation and low temperature. In this regime, periodically modulated couplings to a second thermal reservoir, breaking time-reversal symmetry and taking advantage of non-Markovianity of this latter reservoir, lead to strong violation of TURs for local work currents, while maintaining finite output power. Our results pave the way for the use of synchronization in the thermodynamics of precision., Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures. This is the Accepted Manuscript version of an article accepted for publication in "Quantum Science and Technology". IOP Publishing Ltd is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it. The Version of Record is available online at https://www.doi.org/10.1088/2058-9565/ad6fc9

We investigate the performance of a one-dimensional dimerized XY chain as a spin quantum battery. Such integrable model shows a rich quantum phase diagram that emerges through a mapping of the spins onto auxiliary fermionic degrees of freedom. We consider a charging protocol relying on the double quench of an internal parameter, namely the strength of the dimerization, and address the energy stored in the systems. We observe three distinct regimes, depending on the time-scale characterizing the duration of the charging: a short-time regime related to the dynamics of the single dimers, a long-time regime related to the recurrence time of the system at finite size, and a thermodynamic limit time regime. In the latter, the energy stored is almost unaffected by the charging time and the precise values of the charging parameters, provided the quench crosses a quantum phase transition. Such a robust many-body effect, that characterizes also other models like the quantum Ising chain in a transverse field, as we prove analytically, can play a relevant role in the design of stable solid-state quantum batteries., Comment: 6 pages (+ 8 SM), 4 figures (+ 5 SM)

The coherent energy transfer between two quantum devices (a quantum charger and a quantum battery) mediated by a photonic cavity is investigated, in presence of dissipative environments, with particular focus on the the ultrastrong coupling regime. Here, very short transfer times and high charging power can be achieved in comparison with the usually addressed weak coupling case. Such phenomenology is further magnified by the presence of level crossings appearing in the energy spectrum and which reveal very robust against dissipative environmental effects. Moreover, by carefully control the physical parameters of the model, e.g. the matter-radiation coupling and the frequencies of the system, it is possible to tune these crossings making this device more flexible and experimentally feasible. Finally to broaden our analysis, we assume the possibility of choosing between a Fock and a coherent initial state of the cavity, with the latter showing better energetic performances., Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures

Landau theory's implicit assumption that microscopic details cannot affect the system's phases has been challenged only recently in systems such as antiferromagnetic quantum spin chains with periodic boundary conditions, where topological frustration can be induced. In this work, we show that the latter modifies the zero temperature phase diagram of the XY chain in a transverse magnetic field by inducing new quantum phase transitions. In doing so, we come across the first case of second order boundary quantum phase transition characterized by a quartic dispersion relation. Our analytical results are supported by numerical investigations and lay the foundation for understanding the phase diagram of this frustrated model.

Do quantum correlations lead to better performance with respect to several different systems working independently? For quantum thermal machines, the question is whether a working medium (WM) made of $N$ constituents exhibits better performance than $N$ independent engines working in parallel. Here, by inspecting a microscopic model with the WM composed by two non-interacting quantum harmonic oscillators, we show that the presence of a common environment can mediate non-trivial correlations in the WM leading to better quantum heat engine performance -- maximum power and efficiency -- with respect to an independent configuration. Furthermore, this advantage is striking for strong dissipation, a regime in which two independent engines cannot deliver any useful power. Our results show that dissipation can be exploited as a useful resource for quantum thermal engines, and are corroborated by optimization techniques here extended to non-Markovian quantum heat engines., Comment: Accepted Manuscript: Main text (13 pages, 8 figures) + Supplementary Material (9 pages, 3 figures). This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing. This article appeared in AVS Quantum Science 6, 025001 (2024) and may be found at https://doi.org/10.1116/5.0190340

The coherent energy transfer between two identical two-level systems is investigated. Here, the first quantum system plays the role of a charger, while the second can be seen as a quantum battery. Firstly, a direct energy transfer between the two objects is considered and then compared to a transfer mediated by an additional intermediate two-level system. In this latter case, it is possible to distinguish between a two-step process, where the energy is firstly transferred from the charger to the mediator and only after from the mediator to the battery, and a single-step in which the two transfers occurs simultaneously. The differences between these configurations are discussed in the framework of an analytically solvable model completing what recently discussed in literature., Comment: 27 pages, 9 figures

In the quest for high-performance quantum thermal machines, looking for an optimal thermodynamic efficiency is only part of the issue. Indeed, at the level of quantum devices, fluctuations become extremely relevant and need to be taken into account. In this paper we study the thermodynamic uncertainty relations for a quantum thermal machine with a quantum harmonic oscillator as a working medium, connected to two thermal baths, one of which is dynamically coupled. We show that parameters can be found such that the machine operates both as a quantum engine or refrigerator, with both sizeable efficiency and small fluctuations., Comment: 16 pages, 5 color figures. This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1140/epjs/s11734-023-00949-8

We investigate a Dicke quantum battery in the dispersive regime, where the photons trapped into a resonant cavity are way more energetic with respect to the two-level systems embedded into it. Under such off-resonant conditions, even an empty cavity can lead to the charging of the quantum battery through a proper modulation of the matter-radiation coupling. This counterintuitive behaviour has its roots in the effective interaction between two-level systems mediated by virtual photons emerging from the fluctuations of the quantum electromagnetic field. In order to properly characterize it, we address relevant figures of merit such as the stored energy, the time required to reach the maximum charging, and the averaged charging power. Moreover, the possibility of efficiently extracting energy in various ranges of parameters is discussed. The scaling of stored energy and power as a function of the number $N$ of two-level systems and for different values of the matter-radiation coupling is also discussed showing, in the strong coupling regime, performances in line with what reported for the Dicke quantum battery in the resonant regime., Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures

Quantum thermal machines can perform useful tasks, such as delivering power, cooling, or heating. In this work, we consider hybrid thermal machines, that can execute more than one task simultaneously. We characterize and find optimal working conditions for a three-terminal quantum thermal machine, where the working medium is a quantum harmonic oscillator, coupled to three heat baths, with two of the couplings driven periodically in time. We show that it is possible to operate the thermal machine efficiently, in both pure and hybrid modes, and to switch between different operational modes simply by changing the driving frequency. Moreover, the proposed setup can also be used as a high-performance transistor, in terms of output--to--input signal and differential gain. Due to its versatility and tunability, our model may be of interest for engineering thermodynamic tasks and for thermal management in quantum technologies., Comment: Original submitted version of the manuscript: 14 pages, 5(+1) color figures

We discuss whether, and under which conditions, it is possible to realize a heat engine simply by dynamically modulating the couplings between the quantum working medium and thermal reservoirs. For that purpose, we consider the paradigmatic model of a quantum harmonic oscillator, exposed to a minimal modulation, that is, a monochromatic driving of the coupling to only one of the thermal baths. We demonstrate, at any order in the system/bath coupling strength, that in this setup non--Markovianity of the bath is a necessary condition to obtain a heat engine. In addition, we identify suitable structured environments for the engine to approach the ideal Carnot efficiency. Our results open up new possibilities for the use of non--Markovian open quantum systems for the construction and optimization of quantum thermal machines., Comment: Final revision as published on Physical Review Research: 19 pages, 7 color figures

We characterize for the first time the performances of IBM quantum chips as quantum batteries, specifically addressing the single-qubit Armonk processor. By exploiting the Pulse access enabled to some of the IBM Quantum processors via the Qiskit package, we investigate advantages and limitations of different profiles for classical drives used to charge these miniaturized batteries, establishing the optimal compromise between charging time and stored energy. Moreover, we consider the role played by various possible initial conditions on the functioning of the quantum batteries. As main result of our analysis, we observe that unavoidable errors occurring in the initialization phase of the qubit, which can be detrimental for quantum computing applications, only marginally affects energy transfer and storage. This can lead counter-intuitively to improvements of the performances. This is a strong indication of the fact that IBM quantum devices are already in the proper range of parameters to be considered as good and stable quantum batteries, comparable to state of the art devices recently discussed in literature., Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures

We investigate the coherent energy transfer between two quantum systems mediated by a quantum bus. In particular, we consider the energy transfer process between two qubits, and how it can be influenced by using a third qubit or photons in a resonant cavity as mediators. Inspecting different figures of merit and considering both on and off-resonance configurations, we characterize the energy transfer performances. We show that, while the qubit-mediated transfer shows no advantages with respect to a direct coupling case, the cavity-mediated one is progressively more and more efficient as function of the number of photons stored in the cavity that acts as a quantum bus. The speeding-up of the energy transfer time, due to a quantum mediator paves the way for new architecture designs in quantum technologies and energy based quantum logics., Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures

Describing the thermodynamic properties of quantum systems far from equilibrium is challenging, in particular when the system is strongly coupled to its environment, or when memory effects cannot be neglected. Here, we address such regimes when the system-baths couplings are periodically modulated in time. We show that the couplings modulation, usually associated to a purely dissipative effect when done nonadiabatically, can be suitably engineered to perform thermodynamic tasks. In particular, asymmetric couplings to two heat baths can be used to extract heat from the cold reservoir and to realize an ideal heat rectifier, where the heat current can be blocked either in the forward or in the reverse configuration by simply tuning the frequency of the couplings modulation. Interestingly, both effects take place in the low-temperature, quantum non Markovian regime. Our work paves the way for the use of optimal control techniques for heat engines and refrigerators working in regimes beyond standard approaches., Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures

We consider a quantum battery that is based on a two-level system coupled with a cavity radiation by means of a two-photon interaction. Various figures of merit, such as stored energy, average charging power, energy fluctuations, and extractable work are investigated, considering, as possible initial conditions for the cavity, a Fock state, a coherent state, and a squeezed state. We show that the first state leads to better performances for the battery. However, a coherent state with the same average number of photons, even if it is affected by stronger fluctuations in the stored energy, results in quite interesting performance, in particular since it allows for almost completely extracting the stored energy as usable work at short enough times., Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures

Starting with Carnot engine, the ideal efficiency of a heat engine has been associated with quasi-static transformations and vanishingly small output power. Here, we exactly calculate the thermodynamic properties of a isothermal heat engine, in which the working medium is a periodically driven underdamped harmonic oscillator, focusing instead on the opposite, anti-adiabatic limit, where the period of a cycle is the fastest time scale in the problem. We show that in that limit it is possible to approach the ideal energy conversion efficiency $\eta=1$, with finite output power and vanishingly small relative power fluctuations. The simultaneous realization of all the three desiderata of a heat engine is possible thanks to the breaking of time-reversal symmetry. We also show that non-Markovian dynamics can further improve the power-efficiency trade-off.

We consider a collection of two level systems, such as qubits, embedded into a microwave cavity as a promising candidate for the realization of high power quantum batteries. In this perspective, the possibility to design devices where the conventional single-photon coupling is suppressed and the dominant interaction is mediated by two-photon processes is investigated, opening the way to an even further enhancement of the charging performance. By solving a Dicke model with both single- and two-photon coupling we determine the range of parameters where the latter unconventional interaction dominates the dynamics of the system leading to better performances both in the charging times and average charging power of the QB compared to the single-photon case. In addition, the scaling of the maximum stored energy, fluctuations and charging power with the finite number of qubits N is inspected. While the energy and fluctuations scale linearly with N, the quadratic growth of the average power leads to a relevant improvement of the charging performance of quantum batteries based on this scheme with respect to the purely single-photon coupling case. Moreover, it is shown that the charging process is progressively faster by increasing the coupling from the weak to the ultra-strong regime., Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures

Coupling with an external environment inevitably affects the dynamics of a quantum system. Here, we consider how charging performances of a quantum battery, modelled as a two level system, are influenced by the presence of an Ohmic thermal reservoir. The latter is coupled to both longitudinal and transverse spin components of the quantum battery including decoherence and pure dephasing mechanisms. Charging and discharging dynamics of the quantum battery, subjected to a static driving, are obtained exploiting a proper mapping into the so-called spin-boson model. Analytic expressions for the time evolution of the energy stored in the weak coupling regime are presented relying on a systematic weak damping expansion. Here, decoherence and pure dephasing dissipative coupling are discussed in details. We argue that the former results in better charging performances, showing also interesting features reminiscent of the Lamb shift level splitting renormalization induced by the presence of the reservoir. Charging stability is also addressed, by monitoring the energy behaviour after the charging protocol has been switched off. This study presents a general framework to investigate relaxation effects, able to include also non Markovian effects, and it reveals the importance of controlling and, possibly, engineering system-bath coupling in the realization of quantum batteries., Comment: 29 pages (single column), 6 figures

We study a model of isothermal steady-state work-to-work converter, where a single quantum two-level system (TLS) driven by time-dependent periodic external fields acts as the working medium and is permanently put in contact with a thermal reservoir at fixed temperature $T$. By combining Short-Iterative Lanczos (SIL) method and analytic approaches, we study the converter performance in the linear response regime and in a wide range of driving frequencies, from weak to strong dissipation. We show that for our ideal quantum machine several parameter ranges exist where a violation of Thermodynamics Uncertainty Relations (TUR) occurs. We find the violation to depend on the driving frequency and on the dissipation strength, and we trace it back to the degree of coherence of the quantum converter. We eventually discuss the influence of other possible sources of violation, such as non-Markovian effects during the converter dynamics.

Performances of work-to-work conversion are studied for a dissipative nonlinear quantum system with two isochromatic phase-shifted drives. It is shown that for weak Ohmic damping simultaneous maximization of efficiency with finite power yield and low power fluctuations can be achieved. Optimal performances of these three quantities are accompanied by a shortfall of the trade-off bound recently introduced for classical thermal machines. This bound can be undercut down to zero for sufficiently low temperature and weak dissipation, where the non-Markovian quantum nature dominates. Analytic results are given for linear thermodynamics. These general features can persist in the nonlinear driving regime near to a maximum of the power yield and a minimum of the power fluctuations. This broadens the scope to a new operation field beyond linear response., Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures

Using a periodic train of Lorentzian voltage pulses, which generates soliton-like electronic excitations called Levitons, we investigate the charge density backscattered off a quantum point contact in the fractional quantum Hall regime. We find a regular pattern of peaks and valleys, reminiscent of analogous self-organization recently observed for optical solitons in non-linear environments. This crystallization phenomenon is confirmed by additional side dips in the Hong-Ou-Mandel noise, a feature that can be observed in nowadays electron quantum optics experiments., Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures

The time-dependent energy transfer in a driven quantum system strongly coupled to a heat bath is studied within an influence functional approach. Exact formal expressions for the statistics of energy dissipation into the different channels are derived. The general method is applied to the driven dissipative two-state system. It is shown that the energy flows obey a balance relation, and that, for strong coupling, the interaction may constitute the major dissipative channel. Results in analytic form are presented for a particular value of strong Ohmic dissipation. The energy flows show interesting behaviors including driving-induced coherences and quantum stochastic resonances., Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures

We consider a two level system coupled to a thermal bath and we investigate the variation of energy transferred to the reservoir as a function of time. The physical quantity under investigation is the time-dependent quantum average power. We compare quantum master equation approaches with functional influence method. Differences and similarities between the methods are analyzed, showing deviations at low temperature between the functional integral approach and the predictions based on master equations., Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures, proceeding of the conference UPoN 2015

We study entanglement and fidelity of a two-qubit system when a noisy holonomic, non-Abelian, transformation is applied to one of them. The source of noise we investigate is of two types: one due to a stochastic error representing an imprecise control of the fields driving the evolution; the other due to an interaction between the two near qubits. The peculiar level structure underlying the holonomic operator leads us to introduce the reduced logical entanglement which is the fraction of entanglement in the logical space. The comparison between entanglement and fidelity shows how they are differently affected by the noise and that, in general, the first is more robust than the latter. We find a range of physical parameters for which both fidelity and reduced logical entanglement are well preserved., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. A

We study the performance of holonomic quantum gates, driven by lasers, under the effect of a dissipative environment modeled as a thermal bath of oscillators. We show how to enhance the performance of the gates by suitable choice of the loop in the manifold of the controllable parameters of the laser. For a simplified, albeit realistic model, we find the surprising result that for a long time evolution the performance of the gate (properly estimated in terms of average fidelity) increases. On the basis of this result, we compare holonomic gates with the so-called stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) gates., Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. A

We analyze the performance of holonomic quantum gates in semi-conductor quantum dots, driven by ultrafast lasers, under the effect of a dissipative environment. In agreement with the standard practice, the environment is modeled as a thermal bath of oscillators linearly coupled with the excitonic states of the quantum dot. Standard techniques of quantum dissipation make the problem amenable to a numerical treatment and allow to determine the fidelity (the common gate-performance estimator), as a function of all the relevant physical parameters. As a consequence of our analysis, we show that, by varying in a suitable way the controllable parameters, the disturbance of the environment can be (approximately) suppressed, and the performance of the gate optimized--provided that the thermal bath is purely superhomic. We conclude by showing that such an optimization it is impossible for ohmic environments., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, Revtex4. v2: Minor changes, Corrected typos and Added references