Feedback Control Enables Nearly Perfect Stable Charging of Quantum Batteries in Waveguide-QED Systems

Quantum batteries represent a promising technology for future quantum devices, but maintaining energy storage within these systems remains a significant challenge due to unavoidable energy loss. Xian-Li Yin, Meixi Guo, and Jian Huang, along with colleagues from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and City University of Hong Kong, now present a novel approach to enhance quantum battery performance. Their research demonstrates substantial improvements in both energy storage and the ability to extract useful work from these batteries through the implementation of feedback control within atom-waveguide-QED systems. The team reveals that this method not only enables nearly perfect charging of individual batteries, but also allows control over collective behaviour in larger arrays, potentially establishing stable energy oscillations and achieving either full or partial charge states, a breakthrough that expands the possibilities for practical quantum energy storage.

However, these batteries inevitably lose energy through interaction with their environment, and enhancing their performance in realistic conditions remains a significant challenge. Researchers have proposed a scheme to realise driven-dissipative quantum batteries in atom-waveguide-QED systems and demonstrate substantial improvements in both stored energy and extractable work, known as ergotropy, via feedback control. Specifically, for a single-atom quantum battery, the team shows that combining measurement and coherent feedback controls yields considerable performance gains.

Waveguide QED, Quantum Feedback and Giant Atoms

This extensive list details research focusing on quantum optics, quantum feedback, waveguide QED, and related areas. It highlights investigations into the interaction of light and matter within waveguides, including systems where light-matter interaction is enhanced, and waveguides designed to manipulate light polarisation. The list also encompasses studies of collective effects, where multiple quantum emitters interact with each other and the waveguide environment. Many papers explore using measurements and feedback to manipulate quantum states and dynamics, including techniques like squeezing light to reduce noise and applying continuous or time-delayed feedback.

A core theme is the study of quantum systems interacting with their environment, using techniques to describe the system’s evolution. References address maintaining and manipulating quantum coherence and entanglement, crucial for quantum technologies, and explore squeezed states, entangled photons, and other non-classical light sources. Some papers investigate the possibility of creating time crystals and other exotic phases of matter using collective interactions in waveguide QED. While not exclusively focused on this, many of these techniques are relevant to building and controlling quantum bits and performing quantum computations. This research draws from various areas of physics, including quantum optics, condensed matter physics, and quantum information theory, and demonstrates the use of advanced techniques to explore light-matter interactions and develop new quantum technologies. In essence, this list represents a comprehensive overview of cutting-edge research in quantum optics and waveguide QED, with a strong emphasis on control, coherence, and the development of novel quantum phenomena.

Nearly Perfect Stable Charging of Quantum Batteries

Scientists have achieved significant improvements in the performance of quantum batteries through a novel feedback control scheme within atom-waveguide-QED systems. This work demonstrates enhanced energy storage and extractable work, addressing a key challenge in the development of practical quantum energy storage devices. The research focuses on controlling energy dissipation inherent in open quantum systems, a critical step towards realising efficient batteries. The team investigated two distinct setups, both involving an array of two-level atoms coupled to a waveguide. In the first setup, scientists employed measurement-based feedback control, combining measurement and coherent feedback to achieve nearly perfect stable charging for a single-atom battery under weak driving.

This approach effectively counteracts energy losses due to interaction with the environment. Further investigation using the second setup, which incorporates a waveguide acting as a perfect mirror, allowed for control of different dynamical phases within the battery array. Experiments revealed two distinct phases in the thermodynamic limit: a continuous boundary time-crystal phase, exhibiting persistent periodic energy charge-discharge oscillations despite dissipation, and two stationary phases, one reaching full charge while the other maintains a smaller energy storage level. Specifically, the team demonstrated that the battery array can sustain oscillations in the time-crystal phase and store more stable energy in one of the stationary phases.

The research details how the feedback control modifies decay rates, effectively tuning the interaction between the atoms and the waveguide. By adjusting the feedback strength, scientists can enhance or suppress energy loss, achieving stable charging and controlling the battery’s dynamics. The team characterised the performance of the batteries by quantifying the stored energy and ergotropy, providing new insights into the design of batteries in open quantum systems and offering practical strategies for enhancing their performance.

Atom Arrays, Stable Charging, Dynamical Phases

This research demonstrates significant advances in the development of quantum batteries, devices with the potential to revolutionise energy storage for future quantum technologies. Scientists have successfully designed and modelled a scheme for driven-dissipative batteries within atom-waveguide-QED systems, achieving substantial improvements in both stored energy and the amount of useful work that can be extracted. Through the implementation of measurement and coherent feedback control, researchers demonstrated nearly perfect stable charging for a single-atom battery, even under weak driving conditions. Extending this work to arrays of atoms, the team identified and characterised three distinct dynamical phases governing the charging process.

These phases include a continuous boundary time-crystal phase, exhibiting persistent energy oscillations despite energy loss, and two stationary phases, one achieving full charge and the other maintaining a smaller energy storage level. Notably, the stored energy and extractable work approached unity in the stationary and time-crystal phases as the number of atoms increased. The authors acknowledge that their models represent idealised systems and future work could explore more complex scenarios, such as incorporating time delays between interacting atoms or extending the scheme to utilise multi-level atoms. These investigations promise to further refine the understanding and performance of quantum batteries, paving the way for practical applications in emerging quantum technologies.