We investigate the performance of a quantum battery exposed to local Markovian and non-Markovian dephasing noises. The battery is initially prepared as the ground state of a one-dimensional transverse $XY$ model with open boundary condition and is charged (discharged) via interactions with local bosonic reservoirs. We show that in the transient regime, the quantum battery (QB) can store energy faster and has a higher maximum extractable work, quantified via ergotropy, when it is affected by local phase-flip or bit-flip Markovian noise compared to the case when there is no noise in the system. In both the charging and discharging processes, we report the enhancement in work output as well as in ergotropy when all the spins are affected by a non-Markovian Ohmic bath in both the transient and the steady-state regimes, thereby showing a counterintuitive advantage of decoherence in the QB. In both Markovian and non-Markovian cases, we identify the system parameters and the corresponding noise models which lead to maximum enhancement of work output and ergotropy. Moreover, we show that the benefit due to noise persists even with the initial state being prepared at a moderate temperature.
We investigate the performance of a quantum battery exposed to local Markovian and non-Markovian dephasing noises. The battery is initially prepared as the ground state of a one-dimensional transverse XY model with open boundary condition and is charged (discharged) via interactions with local bosonic reservoirs. We show that in the transient regime, the quantum battery (QB) can store energy faster and has a higher maximum extractable work, quantified via ergotropy, when it is affected by local phase-flip or bit-flip Markovian noise compared to the case when there is no noise in the system. In both the charging and discharging processes, we report the enhancement in work output as well as in ergotropy when all the spins are affected by a non-Markovian Ohmic bath in both the transient and the steady-state regimes, thereby showing a counterintuitive advantage of decoherence in the QB. In both Markovian and non-Markovian cases, we identify the system parameters and the corresponding noise models which lead to maximum enhancement of work output and ergotropy. Moreover, we show that the benefit due to noise persists even with the initial state being prepared at a moderate temperature.
Quantum batteries, which are energy-storage or state-storage devices that exploit unique quantum effects, are sensitive to environmental noise. Here, we demonstrate that suitably engineered noise can induce a "Zeno-like" stabilization effect of the charging process in a spin-chain quantum battery within the Heisenberg XYZ model. Focusing on a system size N=6, which balances computational cost and storage capacity, we find that the ergotropy-to-energy ratio W(t)/E_B(t) attains a maximum value of about 0.99 at a certain time parameter value. Then, by varying the noise strength in each channel, we find that not only does decoherence merely degrade performance but it may also stabilize stored energy and ergotropy in the high noise strength regime. For instance, the phase-flip channel slows charging and reduces charging power, but its discharging behavior releases energy and ergotropy more slowly, allowing the battery to be used for longer times compared to bit-flip and bit-phase-flip channels. In contrast, the bit-flip channel enables fast charging, but yields low storage and rapid energy release. Remarkably, the bit-phase-flip channel can combine the advantages of both bit-flip and phase-flip channels in the high-noise-strength regime. The bit-phase-flip channel supports accelerated charging together with enhanced storage capacity, while its discharging behavior resembles that of the bit-flip channel with rapid energy release. These results reveal that, under sufficiently strong noise, environmental decoherence induces a Zeno-like stabilization, allowing it to achieve enhanced charging performance and to stabilize stored energy and ergotropy in the spin-chain quantum battery.
Going beyond isolated system dynamics, we examine how local and spatially correlated reservoirs influence the work extraction in quantum batteries. By employing a one-dimensional spin-1/2 model coupled to baths via dephasing and amplitude-damping noise, we demonstrate that correlations in reservoirs can significantly enhance battery's performance compared to local noise. In the dephasing scenario, we prove that correlated reservoirs produce a finite amount of extractable work, or ergotropy, during the transient regime when a two-cell battery is initialized in a product state while local noise yields vanishing ergotropy at all times, despite nonvanishing stored energy in both cases. Numerical simulations confirm that this advantage persists across larger system sizes and for both entangled and product initial states. We also find that the dynamics of quantum coherence closely mirror those of ergotropy, highlighting coherence as a key resource underlying the enhanced performance of quantum batteries. Further, we observe that the fraction of stored energy extracted from quantum batteries displays a sharper contrast between the correlated and local reservoirs. Moreover, for dephasing noise, this fraction remains independent of system size, whereas in the amplitude damping case, it exhibits a clear system-size dependence within the transient regime, highlighting distinct operational behaviors under different noise models. In addition, we reveal that when the battery dynamics is governed by an effective Hamiltonian with long-range interactions, it yields higher ergotropy compared to short-range interactions, emphasizing the advantages of reservoir engineering for efficient device design.
Abstract 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.
The performance of open quantum batteries (QBs) is severely limited by decoherence due to the interaction with the surrounding environment. So, protecting the charging processes against decoherence is of great importance for realizing QBs. In this work we address this issue by developing a charging process of a qubit-based open QB composed of a qubit-battery and a qubit-charger, where each qubit moves inside an independent cavity reservoir. Our results show that, in both the Markovian and non-Markovian dynamics, the charging characteristics, including the charging energy, efficiency and ergotropy, regularly increase with increasing the speed of charger and battery qubits. Interestingly, when the charger and battery move with higher velocities, the initial energy of the charger is completely transferred to the battery in the Markovian dynamics. In this situation, it is possible to extract the total stored energy as work for a long time. Our findings show that open moving-qubit systems are robust and reliable QBs, thus making them a promising candidate for experimental implementations.
Abstract The performance of quantum technologies that use entanglement and coherence as a resource is highly limited by the effects of decoherence due to their interaction with some environment. In particular, it is important to take into account situations where such devices unavoidably interact with surrounding. Here, we study memory effects on energy and ergotropy of quantum batteries in the framework of open system dynamics, where the battery and charger are individually allowed to access a bosonic environment. Our investigation shows that the battery can be fully charged as well as its energy can be preserved for long times in non-Markovian dynamics compared with Markovian dynamics. Moreover, the non-Markovianity increase makes it possible to extract the total stored energy as work and the discharge time becomes longer. Our results indicate that memory effects can play a significant role in improving the performance of quantum batteries.
Decoherence and dissipation in open quantum systems generally drive quantum batteries toward passive states, thereby reducing their extractable work (ergotropy). Here, we study a driven qubit quantum battery coherently coupled to an auxiliary harmonic oscillator in the presence of dephasing and dissipation. Using the differential formulation of the first law of open quantum thermodynamics, we analyze the local energy-flow dynamics during the charging process. We find that the auxiliary oscillator induces a transient negative local energy current into the qubit subsystem, corresponding to a temporary inward energy backflow. This transient energy redistribution is accompanied by an enhancement of the qubit ergotropy and a partial suppression of decoherence-induced passivation. Moreover, the parameter regime exhibiting a more pronounced negative-current interval is consistently correlated with larger ergotropy enhancement. Our results suggest that transient inward energy flow provides a useful thermodynamic signature associated with enhanced energy storage in open quantum batteries.