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arXiv:2505.24596 · Physical Review Letters

Ergotropic Characterization of Continuous-Variable Entanglement

Beatriz Polo-Rodríguez, Federico Centrone, Gerardo Adesso, Mir Alimuddin

Published Dec 9, 2025• 0 citations

Abstract

Continuous-variable quantum thermodynamics in the Gaussian regime provides a promising framework for investigating the energetic role of quantum correlations, particularly in optical systems. In this Letter, we introduce an entropy-free criterion for entanglement detection in bipartite Gaussian states, rooted in a distinct thermodynamic quantity: ergotropy-the maximum extractable work via unitary operations. By defining the "relative ergotropic gap," which quantifies the disparity between global and local ergotropy, we derive two independent analytical bounds that distinguish entangled from separable states. These bounds coincide for a broad class of quantum states, making the criterion both necessary and sufficient in such cases. Unlike entropy-based measures, our ergotropic approach captures fundamentally different aspects of quantum correlations and entanglement, particularly in mixed continuous-variable systems. We also extend our analysis beyond the Gaussian regime to certain non-Gaussian states and observe that Gaussian ergotropy continues to reflect thermodynamic signatures in entangled states, albeit with some limitations. These findings establish a direct operational link between entanglement and energy storage, offering an experimentally accessible approach to entanglement detection in continuous-variable optical platforms.

DOI: 10.1103/43jm-qkz2

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Continuous-variable quantum thermodynamics in the Gaussian regime provides a promising framework for investigating the energetic role of quantum correlations, particularly in optical systems. In this Letter, we introduce an entropy-free criterion for entanglement detection in bipartite Gaussian states, rooted in a distinct thermodynamic quantity: ergotropy-the maximum extractable work via unitary operations. By defining the "relative ergotropic gap," which quantifies the disparity between global and local ergotropy, we derive two independent analytical bounds that distinguish entangled from separable states. These bounds coincide for a broad class of quantum states, making the criterion both necessary and sufficient in such cases. Unlike entropy-based measures, our ergotropic approach captures fundamentally different aspects of quantum correlations and entanglement, particularly in mixed continuous-variable systems. We also extend our analysis beyond the Gaussian regime to certain non-Gaussian states and observe that Gaussian ergotropy continues to reflect thermodynamic signatures in entangled states, albeit with some limitations. These findings establish a direct operational link between entanglement and energy storage, offering an experimentally accessible approach to entanglement detection in continuous-variable optical platforms.

We develop a thermodynamic characterization of multimode entanglement in pure continuous-variable systems by quantifying the gap between globally and locally extractable work (ergotropy). For arbitrary pure multimode Gaussian states, we prove that the

2

-local ergotropic gap is a faithful entanglement monotone across any bipartition and constitutes a functionally independent upper bound to the Renyi-2 entanglement entropy. We further introduce the

k

-ergotropic score, the minimum

k

-local ergotropic gap, and show that it faithfully quantifies multimode entanglement across

k

partitions. For pure three-mode Gaussian states, we derive its closed-form relation with the geometric measure for genuine multimode entanglement

(k=2)

, and total Gaussian multimode entanglement

(k=3)

. For systems with more than three modes, the

k

-ergotropic score becomes a functionally independent measure of multimode entanglement to the standard geometric measures. Our results reveal a direct operational hierarchy linking Gaussian multimode entanglement to work extraction under locality constraints, and provide a computable and experimentally accessible thermodynamic framework for characterizing quantum correlations.

The presence of correlations among constituent quantum systems has great relevance in thermodynamics. Significant efforts have been devoted to investigate the role of correlations in work extraction, among others. Here we derive a bound on the difference between global and local extractable work by unitary operations (ergotropic gap) for bipartite separable states. Violation of this bound necessarily certifies the presence of entanglement. This gap is shown to be a monotone under local operations and classical communication-assisted state transformations for pure bipartite quantum states. Further, we provide a thermo-majorization criterion that is sufficient to compare the single-shot work deficit between two pure bipartite entangled states. The ergotropic gap has an implication in witnessing the dimension of a bipartite quantum state with the same local dimensions. On the other hand, our result gives an operational meaning to the Nielsen-Kempe disorder criterion. We also propose a schematic model to visualize the separability bound and to detect entanglement for a restricted class of quantum states.

Extracting work from quantum system is one of the important areas in quantum thermodynamics. As a significant thermodynamic quantity, the ergotropy gap characterizes the difference between the global and local maximum extractable works. We derive an analytical upper bound of the ergotropic gap with respect to [Formula: see text] tripartite separable states. This bound also provides a necessary criterion for the separability of tripartite states. Detailed examples are presented to illustrate the efficiency of this separability criterion.

The theory of bipartite entanglement shares profound similarities with thermodynamics. In this Letter we extend this connection to multipartite quantum systems where entanglement appears in different forms with genuine entanglement being the most exotic one. We propose thermodynamic quantities that capture a signature of genuineness in multipartite entangled states. Instead of entropy, these quantities are defined in terms of energy-particularly the difference between global and local extractable works (ergotropies) that can be stored in quantum batteries. Some of these quantities suffice as faithful measures of genuineness and to some extent distinguish different classes of genuinely entangled states. Along with scrutinizing properties of these measures we compare them with the other existing genuine measures, and argue that they can serve the purpose in a better sense. Furthermore, the generality of our approach allows us to define suitable functions of ergotropies capturing the signature of k nonseparability that characterizes qualitatively different manifestations of entanglement in multipartite systems.

The presence of quantum multipartite entanglement implies the existence of a thermodynamic quantity known as the ergotropic gap, which is defined as the difference between the maximal global and local extractable works from the system. We establish a direct relation between the geometric measure of entanglement and the ergotropic gaps. We show that all the marginal ergotropic gaps form a convex polytope for each class of quantum states that are equivalent under stochastic local operations and classical communication (SLOCC). We finally introduce the concept of multipartite ergotropic gap indicators and use them to present a refined criterion for classifying entanglement under SLOCC.

The paradigm of extracting work from an isolated quantum system through a cyclic Hamiltonian process is a topic of immense research interest. The optimal work extracted under such a process is termed ergotropy [Europhys. Lett. 67, 565 (2004)]. Here, in a multiparty scenario, we consider only a class of such cyclic processes that can be implemented locally, giving rise to the concept of local ergotropy. Eventually, the presence of quantum correlations results in a nonvanishing thermodynamic quantity called an ergotropic gap, measured by the difference between global and local ergotropy. However, the converse does not hold in general, i.e., its nonzero value does not necessarily imply the presence of quantum correlations. For arbitrary multiparty states, we quantify this gap. We also evaluate the difference between maximum global and local extractable work for arbitrary states when the system is no longer isolated but put in contact with a bath of the same local temperature.