Extended local ergotropy

Abstract

A fundamental problem in quantum thermodynamics is to properly quantify the work extractable from out-of-equilibrium systems. While for closed systems, maximum quantum work extraction is defined in terms of the ergotropy functional, this question is unclear in open systems interacting with an environment. The concept of local ergotropy has been proposed, but it presents several problems, such as it is not guaranteed to be non-increasing in time. Here we introduce the concept of extended local ergotropy by exploiting the free evolution of the system-environment compound. At variance with the local ergotropy, the extended local ergotropy is greater, is non-increasing in time, and activates the potential of work extraction in many cases. We then concentrate on specific schemes in which we alternate repeated local unitaries and free system-environment evolution. We provide examples based on the Jaynes-Cummings model, presenting practical protocols and analytic results that serve as proof of principle for the aforementioned advantages.

4 pages, 2 figures + supplemental material. Comments welcome

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• Parallel ergotropy: Maximum work extraction via parallel local unitary operations
• Work extraction from a quantum battery charged through an array of coupled cavities
• Ergotropy in Quantum Batteries
• Extractable energy from quantum superposition of current states
• Sample Complexity of Black Box Work Extraction
• Optimal control of a dissipative micromaser quantum battery in the ultrastrong coupling regime
• Charge-Preserving Operations in Quantum Batteries
• Engineering qubit dynamics in open systems with photonic synthetic lattices
• Correlations in a quantum switch-based heat engine with measurements: A proof-of-principle demonstration
• Boosting Work Extraction in Quantum Batteries via Continuous Environment Monitoring