Zero-Fluctuation Quantum Work Extraction

Abstract

We study the possibility of deterministic protocols for extracting work from quantum systems. Focusing on the two-point measurement work extraction scenario, we prove that, with enough copies of the system, such zero-fluctuation protocols always exist if the Hamiltonian has a rational spectrum. Leveraging this result, we show that for any Hamiltonian, it is possible to construct an unitary driving protocol on sufficiently many copies of the system with work fluctuations strictly bounded within an arbitrary interval $\pm \delta$, albeit requiring exponentially many copies in $1/\delta$.

19 pages, 5 figures. Comments welcome!