Cited by 531Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical MechanicsQuantum Information and CryptographyAdvanced Thermodynamic Systems and Engines

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 48 of the 50 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 16 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Enhancing the Charging Power of Quantum Batteries

Open access

Abstract

Can collective quantum effects make a difference in a meaningful thermodynamic operation? Focusing on energy storage and batteries, we demonstrate that quantum mechanics can lead to an enhancement in the amount of work deposited per unit time, i.e., the charging power, when N batteries are charged collectively. We first derive analytic upper bounds for the collective quantum advantage in charging power for two choices of constraints on the charging Hamiltonian. We then demonstrate that even in the absence of quantum entanglement this advantage can be extensive. For our main result, we provide an upper bound to the achievable quantum advantage when the interaction order is restricted; i.e., at most k batteries are interacting. This constitutes a fundamental limit on the advantage offered by quantum technologies over their classical counterparts.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

The paper defines a collective quantum advantage for charging power when N quantum batteries are charged jointly rather than in parallel, and derives upper bounds on this advantage under energetic constraints. It shows that an extensive advantage is possible even without entanglement, but for physically realisable at-most-k-body interactions the advantage cannot scale with N and is bounded by a function quadratic in k.

Key findings

  • For two constraints on the collective charging Hamiltonian, the quantum advantage is upper bounded as Γ_C1 ≤ √N and Γ_C2 ≤ N, with β = T‖/T_QSL^(1) quantifying inability to saturate the quantum speed limit in parallel charging.
  • An extensive advantage can occur even for highly mixed states inside the separable ball: for N two-level thermal batteries, Γ_C1 = √N, Γ_C2 = N, and Γ_C0 = N, while the joint state need not be entangled during charging.
  • For circuit-based charging with interaction order at most k, Theorem 2 gives Γ_C0 < γk, where γ does not scale with N; for ground-to-maximally-excited states γ = π/2.
  • For generic time-dependent charging with interaction order k and maximum participation number m, Theorem 3 gives Γ_C0 < γ(k²(m−1)+k). Achievable comparisons are Γ_C1 = √k and Γ_C2 = k when N/k is an integer, and Γ_C0 = k in that same situation.

Methods

  • Theoretical study of unitary charging of N quantum batteries, defining the quantum advantage as Γ = P♯/P‖ = T‖/T♯, where P♯ is collective charging power and P‖ is parallel charging power.
  • Analytic derivation using the quantum speed limit, Bures angle L_N, Uhlmann fidelity, and three constraints C0, C1, and C2 on the collective Hamiltonian’s energy, standard deviation, or operator norm.
  • Supplementary proofs use a piecewise unitary circuit model, Trotter-Suzuki decomposition, and a numerical search over Haar-random charging Hamiltonians with sample size ν = 10⁵ for (N,k) = (3,2), (4,2), (4,3), and (6,2).

Limitations

  • The paper states that its bounds are not tight; Theorem 2’s strict inequality is only different by a constant factor from an achievable bound in a special case.
  • Conjecture 4, extending Theorem 2 to any time-dependent k-body interaction Hamiltonian, is not proven; the numerical search found no counterexamples but “does not represent a proof,” and measure-zero counterexamples cannot be excluded.
  • The paper states that k-body interactions are hard to engineer and that higher interaction orders are generally difficult; the exact radius of the separable ball is not known, though it has been bounded.
  • Evident from the text: the work is theoretical and numerical, with no experimental demonstration of the predicted charging advantage.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1103/physrevlett.118.150601

Cites

48 of 48 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

25 Own interpretation · 18 No basis given · 10 Not checked yet · 7 Own result

Verify all 16 references — free account

Show all 38 claims

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 17
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 6
22 of 22
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    Each hµ acts on a completely different set of k batteries, i.e., [hµ, hµ'] = 0 for all µ, µ'.

    “assuming that each h µ acts on a completely different set of k batteries, i.e. , [ h µ , h µ ′ ] = 0 ∀ µ, µ ′ .”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    The reach of the interaction should be limited.

    “This restriction is motivated by the idea that the reach of the interaction should be limited.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The effective participation number m tends to be constrained by the spatial arrangement of systems and the fact that interaction strength often drops off with distance.

    “The effective participation number, or reach, m tends to be constrained by the spatial arrangement of systems and the fact that interaction strength often drops off with distance.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Collective behaviour has been demonstrated to provide an advantage in performing many information theoretic tasks, but such distinctions from classical behaviour are few and far between in thermodynamics.

    “While collective behaviour has been demonstrated to provide an advantage in performing many information theoretic tasks, such distinctions from classical behaviour are few and far between in thermodynamics.”
4 of 4

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Self-check

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Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

1 of 1

Citations

Cites

Show all 50 references

Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. L. Mandelstam, 1945, J. Phys. (Moscow), 9, 1

Cited by

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Items 401–500 of 531

Metadata

Authors
Campaioli, F., Pollock, F. A., Binder, F. C., Céleri, L., Goold, J., Vinjanampathy, S., & Modi, K.
Affiliations
  • Monash University (AU)
  • Nanyang Technological University (SG)
  • Universidade Federal de Goiás (BR)
  • The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) (IT)
  • Centre for Quantum Technologies (SG)
Venue
Physical Review Letters
Published
2017-04-12
Volume
118
Issue
15
Pages
150601-150601
ISSN
  • 0031-9007 (ISSN-L)
  • 1079-7114
OpenAlex
W2561264561
Cited by
531
References
50
Citations by year
2026: 108 · 2025: 107 · 2024: 77 · 2023: 51 · 2022: 51 · 2021: 43 · 2020: 39 · 2019: 30 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 2
FWCI
13.30
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Physical Review Letters (publishedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RMIT Research Repository (RMIT University Library) (submittedVersion)
  • DR-NTU (Nanyang Technological University) (submittedVersion)
  • DSpace (IIT Bombay) (submittedVersion)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University)
Funders
  • National Research Foundation Singapore (NRF-CRP14-2014-02, NRF-NRFF2016-02)
  • European Cooperation in Science and Technology (MP1209)
  • Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq: 401230/2014-7, CNPq: 305086/2013-8, CNPq: 445516/2014-3)
  • IITB-IRCC (16IRCCSG019)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Statistical and Nonlinear Physics › Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics › Quantum Information and Cryptography
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Mechanical Engineering › Advanced Thermodynamic Systems and Engines
Keywords
quantum batteries, charging power, quantum advantage, energy storage, work rate, upper bounds, quantum entanglement, interaction order, quantum thermodynamics

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