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Italian Quantum Information Science Conference (IQIS)

Charger-Mediated Quantum Batteries

Gian Marcello Andolina, Donato Farina, Andrea Mari, Marco Polini, Vittorio Giovannetti

Published Jul 6, 2021• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We study energy-transfer processes from a given quantum system, termed charger, to another one, i.e., the proper battery both in a closed and in an open quantum setting. We quantify the fraction EB(τ) of energy stored in the battery that can be extracted in order to perform thermodynamic work. We show that there can be a substantial gap between the average energy and the extractable work due to correlations created by charger–battery interactions.

DOI
10.3390/proceedings2019012060

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arXiv:2110.10600•New Journal of Physics•Dec 16, 2021•0 citations
We study energy-transfer processes from a given quantum system, termed charger, to another one, i.e., the proper battery both in a closed and in an open quantum setting. We quantify the fraction EB(τ) of energy stored in the battery that can be extracted in order to perform thermodynamic work. We show that there can be a substantial gap between the average energy and the extractable work due to correlations created by charger–battery interactions.
We present a systematic analysis and classification of several models of quantum batteries involving different combinations of two-level systems and quantum harmonic oscillators. In particular, we study energy-transfer processes from a given quantum system, termed a ``charger,'' to another one, i.e., the proper ``battery.'' In this setting, we analyze different figures of merit, including the charging time, the maximum energy transfer, and the average charging power. The role of coupling Hamiltonians which do not preserve the number of local excitations in the charger-battery system is clarified by properly accounting for them in the global energy balance of the model.
We investigate a quantum battery made of N two-level systems, which is charged by an optical mode via an energy-conserving interaction. We quantify the fraction of energy stored in the battery that can be extracted in order to perform thermodynamic work. We first demonstrate that this quantity is highly reduced by the presence of correlations between the charger and the battery or between the subsystems composing the battery. We then show that the correlation-induced suppression of extractable energy, however, can be mitigated by preparing the charger in a coherent optical state. We conclude by proving that the charger-battery system is asymptotically free of such locking correlations in the N→∞ limit.
Starting from the observation that the reduced state of a system strongly coupled to a bath is, in general, an athermal state, we introduce and study a cyclic battery-charger quantum device that is in thermal equilibrium, or in a ground state, during the charge storing stage. The cycle has four stages: the equilibrium storage stage is interrupted by disconnecting the battery from the charger, then work is extracted from the battery, and then the battery is reconnected with the charger; finally, the system is brought back to equilibrium. At no point during the cycle are the battery-charger correlations artificially erased. We study the case where the battery and charger together comprise a spin-1/2 Ising chain, and show that the main characteristics-the extracted energy and the thermodynamic efficiency-can be enhanced by operating the cycle close to the quantum phase transition point. When the battery is just a single spin, we find that the output work and efficiency show a scaling behavior at criticality and derive the corresponding critical exponents. Due to always present correlations between the battery and the charger, operations that are equivalent from the perspective of the battery can entail different energetic costs for switching the battery-charger coupling. This happens only when the coupling term does not commute with the battery's bare Hamiltonian, and we use this purely quantum leverage to further optimize the performance of the device.
Quantum batteries have emerged as promising platforms for exploring energy storage and transfer processes governed by quantum mechanical laws. In this work, we study three models of two-qubit open quantum systems. The first model comprises two central spins immersed in spin baths, and both central spins are collectively considered as quantum batteries. The impact of inter-qubit interactions on the performance of the quantum battery is investigated. In the second model, a two-qubit model interacting with a squeezed thermal bath serves as a collective quantum battery, where the impact of inter-atomic distance and the bath temperature on the battery's performance is explored. Furthermore, a two-qubit model is used, where one qubit is modeled as a battery and the other as a charger. The charger in this model interacts with an anisotropic spin-chain bath, which is conducive to quantum criticality. It is demonstrated that this criticality has a substantial impact on the quantum battery's storage capacity.
Abstract Starting from the observation that the reduced state of a system strongly coupled to a bath is, in general, an athermal state, we introduce and study a cyclic battery–charger quantum device that is in thermal equilibrium, or in a ground state, during the charge storing stage. The cycle has four stages: the equilibrium storage stage is interrupted by disconnecting the battery from the charger, then work is extracted from the battery, and then the battery is reconnected with the charger; finally, the system is brought back to equilibrium. At no point during the cycle are the battery–charger correlations artificially erased. We study the case where the battery and charger together comprise a spin-1/2 Ising chain, and show that the main characteristics—the extracted energy and the thermodynamic efficiency—can be enhanced by operating the cycle close to the quantum phase transition point. When the battery is just a single spin, we find that the output work and efficiency show a scaling behavior at criticality and derive the corresponding critical exponents. Due to always present correlations between the battery and the charger, operations that are equivalent from the perspective of the battery can entail different energetic costs for switching the battery–charger coupling. This happens only when the coupling term does not commute with the battery’s bare Hamiltonian, and we use this purely quantum leverage to further optimize the performance of the device.