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Physical review. B./Physical review. B

Experimental optimization of charging quantum batteries through a catalyst system

Dengke Qu, Xiang Zhan, Hai‐Qing Lin, Peng Xue

Published Nov 2, 2023• 35 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Quantum batteries are quantum systems that potentially serve as fuel for other quantum devices by receiving and supplying energy. In this Letter, we investigate the charging processes of a state-of-the-art quantum battery made of a harmonic oscillator, which can store infinite amounts of energy in principle. We experimentally simulate the charging process using a high-dimensional photonic quantum system with multiple concatenated interferometers. Our experiments demonstrate that both the stored and extractable energy of the quantum battery can be significantly improved by introducing a catalyst system. This charging protocol has the same performance as optimized the frequency of the external field in the direct charging protocol but is more convenient without the requirement of probing the global frequency of the charge-battery system. From the viewpoint of experimental innovation, we propose a general method to deterministically implement an arbitrary trace-preserving nonunitary channel and realize it experimentally. Our work shows the potential of this interesting quantum battery and sheds light on experimental investigations of quantum batteries.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.108.l180301

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Quantum batteries are quantum systems that potentially serve as fuel for other quantum devices by receiving and supplying energy. In this Letter, we investigate the charging processes of a state-of-the-art quantum battery made of a harmonic oscillator, which can store infinite amounts of energy in principle. We experimentally simulate the charging process using a high-dimensional photonic quantum system with multiple concatenated interferometers. Our experiments demonstrate that both the stored and extractable energy of the quantum battery can be significantly improved by introducing a catalyst system. This charging protocol has the same performance as optimized the frequency of the external field in the direct charging protocol but is more convenient without the requirement of probing the global frequency of the charge-battery system. From the viewpoint of experimental innovation, we propose a general method to deterministically implement an arbitrary trace-preserving nonunitary channel and realize it experimentally. Our work shows the potential of this interesting quantum battery and sheds light on experimental investigations of quantum batteries.
We propose an approach for the optimization of the charging of harmonic oscillators (quantum batteries) coupled to a harmonic oscillator (charger), driven by a laser field. We demonstrate that energy transfer limitations can be significantly mitigated in the presence of catalyst systems, mediating between the charger and quantum batteries. We show that these catalyst systems, either qubits or harmonic oscillators, enhance the amount of energy transferred to quantum batteries, while they themselves store almost no energy. It eliminates the need for optimizing the frequency of the charging laser field whose optimal value in the bare setting depends on the coupling strengths between the charger and the batteries.
We investigate the optimal charging processes for several models of quantum batteries, finding how to maximize the energy stored in a given battery with a finite-time modulation of a set of external fields. We approach the problem using advanced tools of optimal control theory, highlighting the universality of some features of the optimal solutions, for instance the emergence of the well-known bang-bang behavior of time-dependent external fields. The technique presented here is general, and we apply it to specific cases in which the energy is either pumped into the battery by external forces (direct charging) or transferred into it from an external charger (mediated charging). In this paper we focus on particular systems that consist of coupled qubits and harmonic oscillators, for which the optimal charging problem can be explicitly solved using a combined analytical-numerical approach based on our optimal control techniques. However, our approach can be applied to more complex setups, thus fostering the study of many-body effects in the charging process.
Quantum energy science is rapidly emerging as a domain interested in the generation, transfer and storage of energy at the quantum level. In particular, quantum batteries have the scope to exploit the wonders of quantum mechanics in order to boost their performance as compared to their electrochemical equivalents. Here we show how an exponential enhancement in stored energy can be achieved with a quantum battery thanks to a two-photon charging protocol. We consider theoretically a quantum battery modelled as a quantum harmonic oscillator, which when driven by a quadratic field (manifested by a Gaussian pulse envelope) gives rise to squeezing of the battery. This quantum squeezing ensures that the population of the battery is driven exponentially up its bosonic energy ladder. Our results demonstrate a plausible mechanism for quickly storing a vast amount of energy in a quantum object defined by continuous variables, which may be explored experimentally in a variety of quantum optical platforms.
Abstract This study investigates the performance of a three-level quantum battery model, which aims to optimize the trade off between the high capacity of harmonic oscillators and the rapid charging of two-level systems. Utilizing a harmonic oscillator charger and a three-level holder, we analyze the impact of linear and quadratic driving protocols within an open quantum system framework. Our results show that linear driving yields a highly efficient charging process with an ergotropy to energy ratio near unity. On the other hands, the quadratic driving significantly enhances stored energy and peak charging power but introduces increased state mixedness that limits the extractable work. Furthermore, these findings highlight the necessity of balancing coupling strengths and driving nonlinearities to maximize the thermodynamic efficiency of the quantum battery.
Quantum batteries are quantum systems used to store energy to be later extracted by an external agent in the form of work to perform some task. Here we study the charging of a hybrid quantum battery via a collisional model mediated by an anti-Jaynes-Cummings interaction obtained from an off-resonant Raman configuration. The battery is made of two distinct components: a stationary infinite-dimensional single quantum system (e.g., a harmonic oscillator) and a stream of small-dimensional ones (e.g., qutrits). The charging protocol consists of sequentially interacting the harmonic oscillator with each element of the stream, one at a time, under the action of an external energy source and the goal is to analyze how the charging of both the harmonic oscillator and the qutrits is affected by the correlation properties of the stream.
Abstract Quantum control allows us to address the problem of engineering quantum dynamics for special purposes. While recently the field of quantum batteries has attracted much attention, optimization of their charging has not benefited from the quantum control methods. Here we fill this gap by using an optimization method. We apply for the first time the convergent iterative method for the control of the population of a bipartite quantum system in two cases, starting with a qubit-qubit case. The quantum charger-battery system is considered here, where the energy is pumped into the charger by an external classical electromagnetic field. Secondly, we systematically extend our investigation to a second case involving two harmonic oscillators in the Gaussian regime, presenting an original formulation of the method. In both cases, the charger is considered to be an open dissipative system, as its interaction with the drive may require a more pronounced exposure to general interaction with environment. A key consideration in our optimization strategy is the practical concern of turning the charging external field on and off. We find that optimizing the pulse shape yields a substantial enhancement in both the power and efficiency of the charging process compared to a sinusoidal drive. The harmonic oscillator configuration of quantum batteries is particularly intriguing, as the optimal driving pulse remains effective regardless of the environmental temperature. This study introduces a novel approach to quantum battery charging optimization, opening avenues for enhanced performance in real-world applications.