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arXiv:2408.04993 · Physical Review A

Exploring non-Markovianity in ergodic channels: Measuring memory retention through ergotropy

Ritam Basu, Anish Chakraborty, Himanshu Badhani, Mir Alimuddin, Samyadeb Bhattacharya

Published Mar 14, 2025• 6 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

In this work, we introduce and characterize a broad class of quantum operations with a unique fixed point, termed quantum ergodic channels. We derive Lindblad-type master equations for these channels in arbitrary finite dimensions and analyze their non-Markovian dynamics using established measures. When the fixed point is a passive state, the channels exhibit ergotropy dynamics with notable thermodynamic implications. Specifically, under Markovian processes, ergotropy (a measure of the extractable work from a system under unitary evolution) monotonically decreases. However, in non-Markovian dynamics, ergotropy fluctuates, leading to a backflow effect that highlights memory-induced resource recovery. Our findings suggest that this ergotropy backflow could serve as an operationally meaningful indicator of non-Markovianity, offering new perspectives on the interplay between memory effects and thermodynamic behavior in open quantum systems. This study enhances the theoretical framework for understanding energy dynamics under ergodic channels and highlights new avenues for exploring the implications of memory effects in quantum batteries.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.111.032416

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In this work, we introduce and characterize a broad class of quantum operations with a unique fixed point, termed quantum ergodic channels. We derive Lindblad-type master equations for these channels in arbitrary finite dimensions and analyze their non-Markovian dynamics using established measures. When the fixed point is a passive state, the channels exhibit ergotropy dynamics with notable thermodynamic implications. Specifically, under Markovian processes, ergotropy (a measure of the extractable work from a system under unitary evolution) monotonically decreases. However, in non-Markovian dynamics, ergotropy fluctuates, leading to a backflow effect that highlights memory-induced resource recovery. Our findings suggest that this ergotropy backflow could serve as an operationally meaningful indicator of non-Markovianity, offering new perspectives on the interplay between memory effects and thermodynamic behavior in open quantum systems. This study enhances the theoretical framework for understanding energy dynamics under ergodic channels and highlights new avenues for exploring the implications of memory effects in quantum batteries.
Quantum thermodynamics has emerged as a central field for understanding how energy conversion processes occur in microscopic systems. In these systems, effects such as coherence, entanglement, and non-Markovianity play key roles. In this thesis, we explore different ways to describe quantum thermodynamics, using two main approaches: one based on entropy and the other on ergotropy. First, we introduce a generalized approach to quantify non-Markovianity through the breakdown of monotonicity in thermodynamic functions. In this context, the entropy-based heat flow serves as a practical tool to witness and measure quantum memory in unital maps that do not reverse the sign of the internal energy. Next, we analyze the dynamics of ergotropy in open qubits under both Markovian and non-Markovian evolutions. We identify phenomena such as freezing and sudden death of ergotropy, and we establish an analytical relation between the change in ergotropy and the environment-induced work . This provides a clear physical interpretation for the additional term in the first law in the entropy-based formulation. Finally, we propose an ergotropy-based thermodynamic formulation, in which heat is reinterpreted in terms of the change of the passive state associated with the density operator governing the quantum dynamics. This approach allows one to measure non-Markovianity of unital maps more generally and accurately than the entropy-based heat flow. This advantage comes from the direct link between heat and von Neumann entropy, a property ensured by invariance under passive transformations. Moreover, the out-of-equilibrium temperature naturally remains non-negative, similarly to equilibrium thermodynamics.
We investigate the dynamics of ergotropy in open systems under Markovian and non-Markovian evolutions. In this scenario, we begin by formulating the ergotropy of an arbitrary qubit state in terms of energy and coherence. Thus we determine the conditions for ergotropy freezing and ergotropy sudden death as a consequence of the system-bath interaction. In order to use ergotropy as a resource for energy extraction in the form of work in an open-system scenario, we adopt the entropy-based formulation of quantum thermodynamics. In this approach, the work gains an additional environment-induced component, which may be present even for constant Hamiltonians. We then establish an analytical relationship between the environment-induced work and ergotropy, providing an interpretation of environment-induced work in terms of variation of ergotropy. In particular, energy transfer by environment-induced work can be performed up to a limit, which is governed by the energy cost to transit between the initial and final passive states of the quantum dynamics. We illustrate these results for qubit states evolving under nondissipative and dissipative quantum processes.
In general, a quantum battery unavoidably interacts with its surroundings. Here, we study memory effects on energy and ergotropy of a quantum battery 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 and all the energy stored in the battery can be extracted in the presence of non-Markovian dynamics, in addition, its energy can be preserved for long times compared with Markovian dynamics. Our results indicate that memory effects can play a significant role in improving the performance of quantum batteries.
Here, we study the impact of non-Markovian evolution on prominent characteristics of quantum thermodynamics such as ergotropy and power. These are benchmarked by the behavior of the quantum speed limit time. We make use of both geometric-based, particularly the quantum Fisher and Wigner–Yanase information metric, and physical properties-based measures, particularly the relative purity measure and relative entropy of coherence measure, to compute the quantum speed limit time. A simple non-Markovian model of a qubit in a bosonic bath exhibiting non-Markovian amplitude damping evolution is considered, which, from the quantum thermodynamic perspective with finite initial ergotropy, can be envisaged as a quantum battery. To this end, we explore the connections between the physical properties-based measures of the quantum speed limit time and the coherent component of ergotropy. The non-Markovian evolution is shown to impact the recharging process of the quantum battery. Furthermore, a connection between the discharging–charging cycle of the quantum battery and the geometric measures of the quantum speed limit time is observed.
We investigate ergotropy dynamics in a graphene-based quantum battery modeled as a four-level spin--valley system under different dissipative environments. The battery is charged via a Gaussian pulse and subsequently evolves under amplitude damping, dephasing, and both Markovian and non-Markovian reservoirs. We find that amplitude damping, while inducing energy loss, can stabilize non-passive steady states with finite ergotropy, whereas pure dephasing suppresses coherence and eliminates work extraction. On the other hand, non-Markovian memory slows ergotropy loss and enables partial recovery through information backflow. These results identify coherence and reservoir memory as essential resources for enhancing the long-time performance of graphene quantum batteries.
Recently, there has been an upsurge of interest in quantum thermodynamic devices, notably quantum batteries. Quantum batteries serve as energy storage devices governed by the rules of quantum thermodynamics. Here, we propose a model of a quantum battery wherein the system of interest can be envisaged as a battery, and the ambient environment acts as a charger (dissipation) mechanism, modeled along the ubiquitous quantum Brownian motion. We employ quantifiers such as ergotropy and its (in)coherent manifestations, as well as instantaneous and average powers, to characterize the performance of the quantum battery. We investigate the influence of the bath's temperature and the system's coupling with the environment via momentum and position coordinates on the discharging and recharging dynamics. Moreover, we probe the memory effects of the system's dynamics and obtain a relationship between the system's non-Markovian evolution and the battery's recharging process.