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Fundamental Limitations to Local Energy Extraction in Quantum Systems
Álvaro M Alhambra1, Georgios Styliaris2, Nayeli A Rodríguez-Briones1,3,4
1Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 2Y5, Canada.
Physical Review Letters
|November 26, 2019
Summary
Energy cannot be extracted from entangled quantum systems under certain conditions. Researchers developed new methods to define and identify this "passivity," strengthening previous findings on quantum thermodynamics and temperature thresholds.
Area of Science:
- Quantum Thermodynamics
- Quantum Information Theory
- Condensed Matter Physics
Background:
- Extracting energy from quantum systems is crucial for quantum technologies.
- Entanglement in quantum systems is hypothesized to restrict energy extraction.
- Understanding 'passivity' is key to defining limits on energy extraction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the conditions under which local energy extraction from bipartite quantum systems is impossible.
- To fully characterize the concept of 'passivity' in the context of energy extraction.
- To investigate the role of entanglement and strong coupling in limiting energy extraction.
Main Methods:
- Utilized semidefinite programming techniques to establish necessary and sufficient conditions for energy extraction impossibility.
- Developed novel methods for characterizing quantum passivity.
- Analyzed thermal states in the thermodynamic limit with decaying spatial correlations.
Main Results:
- Established precise conditions defining when local energy extraction is impossible in entangled bipartite quantum systems.
- Significantly improved quantitative bounds on the threshold temperature for the onset of passivity.
- Demonstrated the applicability of these findings to thermal states under specific correlation conditions.
Conclusions:
- The study provides a complete characterization of passivity, revealing fundamental limits on energy extraction.
- The application of semidefinite programming opens new avenues for exploring quantum thermodynamics.
- Results offer crucial insights into the interplay between entanglement, temperature, and energy extractability in quantum systems.
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