21 July 2022 Thu 10 am

< Previous

We consider a quantum system in equilibrium with an environment such that its reduced state has ergotropy and could be used as a battery. The device works in a cycle of two strokes: energy extraction and recharging, and we study two possible scenarios. In the first, the battery is strongly coupled to a bath. To extract the ergotropy, one must disconnect it, and to recharge it, one must reconnect it. Because the coupling is strong, these disconnection and reconnection processes have a work cost. But the battery is charged by the thermalization process. We discuss the thermodynamic process's properties and some possible quantum advantages. In the second scenario, an engineered interaction with the thermal environment charges the battery. In this case, implementing the charging process has a thermodynamic cost. We study the working cycle and its stochastic thermodynamics by considering that the battery's energy is resolved in the charged and discharged states of the process. We discuss the statistics of the extracted energy, recharging energy, and efficiency of the device.  

Next >