The study of quantum thermodynamics aims to elucidate the role played by quantum principles in the emergent features of quantum thermodynamic processes. Specifically, it is of fundamental importance to understand how quantum correlation among different parties enables thermodynamic features distinguishable from those arising in classical thermodynamics. In this work, we investigate the relation between extractable work and quantum correlations for two-mode Gaussian states. We examine the change in local energy occurring at one party due to a Gaussian measurement performed on the other in relation to the quantum correlations of two-mode states classified as separable, entangled, and steerable states. Our analysis reveals a clear quantitative difference in the extractable work, depending on the class of states to which the two-mode state belongs.
The study of quantum thermodynamics aims to elucidate the role played by quantum principles in the emergent features of quantum thermodynamic processes. Specifically, it is of fundamental importance to understand how quantum correlation among different parties enables thermodynamic features distinguishable from those arising in classical thermodynamics. In this work, we investigate the relation between extractable work and quantum correlations for two-mode Gaussian states. We examine the change in local energy occurring at one party due to a Gaussian measurement performed on the other in relation to the quantum correlations of two-mode states classified as separable, entangled, and steerable states. Our analysis reveals a clear quantitative difference in the extractable work, depending on the class of states to which the two-mode state belongs.
Inspired by the primary goal of quantum thermodynamics-to characterize quantum signatures and leverage their benefits in thermodynamic scenarios-we design a work extraction task within a bipartite framework that exhibits a quantum thermodynamic advantage. The steerability of quantum correlations between the two parties is the key resource enabling such an advantage. In designing the task, we exploit the correspondence between steerability and the incompatibility of observables. Our work extraction protocol involves mutually unbiased bases, which exhibit maximum incompatibility and therefore maximum steerability, showcased in maximally entangled quantum states. The work extraction protocols consist of quenches and thermalization processes, which serve as fundamental building blocks for various thermodynamic protocols, such as heat engines. We derive upper bounds on the extractable work for unsteerable and steerable correlations and devise a protocol that saturates the latter. The ratio between the extractable work in steerable and unsteerable scenarios, which encapsulates the quantum advantage, increases with the dimension of the underlying system (sometimes referred to as an unbounded advantage). This proves a quantum thermodynamic advantage arising from steerable quantum correlations.
We study the energy exchange between two bosonic systems that interact via bilinear transformations in the mode operators. The first mode is considered as the thermodynamic system, while the second is regarded as the bath. This work finds its roots in a very recent formulation of quantum thermodynamics [Bera et al., Quantum 3, 121 (2019)] which allows one to consider baths that are not described by the usual Boltzmann-Gibbs canonical form. Baths can possess quantum properties, such as squeezing or coherence, and can be initially correlated with the system, even through entanglement. We focus mainly on the case of Gaussian states, by quantifying the relation between their defining parameters, namely the mean values of the quadratures and the covariance matrix, and relevant thermodynamical quantities such as the heat exchanged and the work performed during the interaction process. We fully solve the case of initially uncorrelated Gaussian states and provide the most general form of the first law of thermodynamics in this case. We also discuss the case of initially correlated states by considering a number of relevant examples, studying how correlations can assist some phenomena, e.g., work extraction or anomalous heat flows. Finally, we present an information-theoretic approach based on the Renyi entropy of order two for clarifying more generally the role of correlations on heat exchanges.
Abstract A thermodynamic theory of quantum entanglement as well as the establishment of rigorous formal connections between the laws of thermodynamics and the phenomenology of entanglement are currently open areas of investigation. In this quest, a core problem is embodied by the understanding of the role that entanglement plays in processes of work extraction. Here, by considering information thermodynamics-based protocols, we answer the question “Is it possible to infer, quantitatively, quantum correlations by considering work-extraction schemes?”. Our experimental settings consist of suitably designed multi-photon optical interferometers able to address the case of both bipartite and multipartite entangled states. We compare the performance of such criteria to that of witnesses of entanglement based on the violation of Bell-like tests, showing their inherently different nature. Our work contributes strongly to the ongoing efforts in establishing photonic systems as a platform for experiments in information thermodynamics.
Understanding the role of classical and quantum correlations in work extraction is a problem of fundamental importance in thermodynamics. We approach this problem by considering that, in closed quantum systems, the maximum cyclic work extractable is equal to the ergotropy. Thus, we aim to identify and investigate the contributions to the ergotropy coming from different kinds of initial correlations (total, classical, discord, and entanglement correlations). By doing so, we have introduced and studied quantifiers of correlations which are based on ergotropy. In particular, our results suggest that only discord correlations always give a positive contribution to work extraction, whereas total, classical, and entanglement correlations can reduce the work extraction.
A key concept in quantum thermodynamics is extractable work, which specifies the maximum amount of work that can be extracted from a quantum system. Different quantities are used to measure extractable work, the most prevalent of which are ergotropy and the difference between the non-equilibrium and equilibrium quantum free energies. Using the latter, we investigate the evolution of extractable work when an open quantum system undergoes a general quantum process described by a completely-positive and trace-preserving dynamical map. We derive a fundamental equation of thermodynamics for such processes as a relation between the distinct sorts of energy change in such a way that the first and the second law of thermodynamics are combined. We then identify the contributions from the reversible and irreversible processes in this equation and demonstrate that they are respectively responsible for the evolution of heat and extractable work of the open quantum system. Furthermore, we show how this correspondence between irreversibility and extractable work has the potential to provide a clear explanation of how the quantum properties of a system affect its extractable work evolution. Specifically, we establish this by directly connecting the change in extractable work with the change in standard quantifiers of quantum non-Markovianity and quantum coherence during a general quantum process. We illustrate these results with two examples.
Abstract Gaussian states, characterized by probability distributions in phase-space representations, play a fundamental role in quantum information processing. Despite their mathematical tractability, the presence of noise imposes limitations on achieving quantum protocols, impacting their effectiveness in continuous-variable quantum systems for various communication and computation tasks. Hence, investigating quantum entanglement and quantum correlations within the coherence of Gaussian states in noisy channels holds significant importance. In this study, we introduce and investigate a framework designed to precisely define and explore the dynamic evolution of quantum correlations within twomode Gaussian states subjected to the effects of a Gaussian thermal environment. We elucidate the temporal progression of quantum correlations within an open system comprising two interconnected bosonic modes embedded in a Gaussian thermal environment. We explore the impact of the environment by considering the evolution of the initial parameters of the input states. We measure the quantum correlations by employing the quantifiers: the Gaussian logarithmic negativity (GLN) N and the Gaussian quantum discord (GQD) D G . The behavior of these quantum correlation quantifiers is intricately related to the parameters of the input states utilized in the analysis. We demonstrate that the GQD D G serves as an appropriate measurement quantifier in capturing fundamental quantum correlations, outperforming other quantifiers. Furthermore, our findings reveal that the GQD D G exhibits greater resilience compared to GLN N , showing a reduced sensitivity to external influences.