Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 9, 2026
12:14
The Generation of Higher-order Laguerre-Gauss Optical Beams for High-precision Interferometry
Published on: August 12, 2013
22.4K
Fundamental Precision Limits in Finite-Dimensional Quantum Thermal Machines
1The University of Tokyo, Department of Information and Communication Engineering, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
Physical Review Letters
|November 30, 2025
Summary
Fundamental precision limits for quantum thermal machines are derived, independent of dynamics. These limits, set by system configuration, reveal trade-offs in energy storage and charging precision, with quantum coherence offering improvements.
Area of Science:
- Quantum thermodynamics
- Statistical mechanics
- Quantum information science
Background:
- The thermodynamic uncertainty relation links precision to entropy production.
- Infinite entropy production is physically impossible, suggesting inherent precision limits.
- Open quantum thermal machines face precision limitations influenced by system dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- Derive fundamental, dynamics-independent precision limits for open quantum thermal machines.
- Investigate how system configuration and quantum coherence affect these limits.
- Analyze the trade-off between energy storage and charging precision in quantum batteries.
Main Methods:
- Derivation of dynamics-independent bounds on relative variance and observable expectations.
- Analysis of finite-dimensional quantum systems and environments.
- Application to a quantum battery model to study energy storage and charging.
Main Results:
- Fundamental precision limits are established, determined by system dimensions, energy bandwidth, and initial eigenvalues.
- A trade-off exists between energy storage capacity and charging precision in quantum batteries.
- Quantum coherence was shown to enhance these fundamental precision limits.
Conclusions:
- Physical constraints, not just dynamics, dictate precision limits in quantum thermal machines.
- System configuration plays a crucial role in setting achievable precision.
- Quantum coherence offers a pathway to overcome inherent precision limitations.
Related Concept Videos
04:08The Uncertainty Principle
31.2K
Werner Heisenberg considered the limits of how accurately one can measure properties of an electron or other microscopic particles. He determined that there is a fundamental limit to how accurately one can measure both a particle’s position and its momentum simultaneously. The more accurate the measurement of the momentum of a particle is known, the less accurate the position at that time is known and vice versa. This is what is now called the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. He...
31.2K
01:14NMR Spectrometers: Resolution and Error Correction
1.0K
When magnetic nuclei in a sample achieve resonance and undergo relaxation, the signal detected in NMR is an approximately exponential free induction decay. Fourier transform of an exponential decay yields a Lorentzian peak in the frequency domain. Lorentzian peaks in an NMR spectrum are defined by their amplitude, full width at half maximum, and position, where the peak width is governed by the spin-spin relaxation time alone. In real experiments, however, the applied magnetic field is rendered...
1.0K
03:37Uncertainty in Measurement: Accuracy and Precision
99.4K
Scientists typically make repeated measurements of a quantity to ensure the quality of their findings and to evaluate both the precision and the accuracy of their results. Measurements are said to be precise if they yield very similar results when repeated in the same manner. A measurement is considered accurate if it yields a result that is very close to the true or the accepted value. Precise values agree with each other; accurate values agree with a true value.
99.4K
02:45The Quantum-Mechanical Model of an Atom
56.4K
Shortly after de Broglie published his ideas that the electron in a hydrogen atom could be better thought of as being a circular standing wave instead of a particle moving in quantized circular orbits, Erwin Schrödinger extended de Broglie’s work by deriving what is now known as the Schrödinger equation. When Schrödinger applied his equation to hydrogen-like atoms, he was able to reproduce Bohr’s expression for the energy and, thus, the Rydberg formula governing hydrogen spectra.
56.4K
01:28Accuracy, limits, and approximation
1.1K
Accuracy, limits, and approximations are common in many fields, especially in engineering calculations. These concepts are imperative for ensuring that a given value is as close as possible to its true value.
Accuracy is defined as the closeness of the measured value to the true or actual value. In engineering mechanics, repeated measurements are taken during theoretical or experimental analyses to ensure that the result is precise and accurate.
The accuracy of any solution is based on the...
Accuracy is defined as the closeness of the measured value to the true or actual value. In engineering mechanics, repeated measurements are taken during theoretical or experimental analyses to ensure that the result is precise and accurate.
The accuracy of any solution is based on the...
1.1K
01:14Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Population Distribution
2.3K
Near absolute zero temperatures, in the presence of a magnetic field, the majority of nuclei prefer the lower energy spin-up state to the higher energy spin-down state. As temperatures increase, the energy from thermal collisions distributes the spins more equally between the two states. The Boltzmann distribution equation gives the ratio of the number of spins predicted in the spin −½ (N−) and spin +½ (N+) states.
2.3K