Combining energy efficiency and quantum advantage in cyclic machines

Energy efficiency and quantum advantage are two important features of quantum devices. We here report an experimental realization that combines both features in a quantum engine coupled to a quantum battery that stores the produced work, using a single ion in a linear Paul trap. We begin by establishing the quantum nature of the device by observing nonclassical work oscillations with the number of cycles as verified by energy measurements of the battery. We moreover apply shortcut-to-adiabaticity techniques to suppress quantum friction and improve work production. While the average energy cost of the shortcut protocol is only about 3%, the work output is enhanced by up to approximately 33%, making the machine significantly more energy efficient. We additionally show that the quantum engine consistently outperforms its classical counterpart in this regime. Our results pave the way for energy efficient machines with quantum-enhanced performance.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2025-06-02
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60179-5
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Quantum Computing Algorithms and Architecture
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
2.48

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Combining energy efficiency and quantum advantage in cyclic machines

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Combining energy efficiency and quantum advantage in cyclic machines

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article en
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Abstract

Energy efficiency and quantum advantage are two important features of quantum devices. We here report an experimental realization that combines both features in a quantum engine coupled to a quantum battery that stores the produced work, using a single ion in a linear Paul trap. We begin by establishing the quantum nature of the device by observing nonclassical work oscillations with the number of cycles as verified by energy measurements of the battery. We moreover apply shortcut-to-adiabaticity techniques to suppress quantum friction and improve work production. While the average energy cost of the shortcut protocol is only about 3%, the work output is enhanced by up to approximately 33%, making the machine significantly more energy efficient. We additionally show that the quantum engine consistently outperforms its classical counterpart in this regime. Our results pave the way for energy efficient machines with quantum-enhanced performance.

Nature CommunicationsVol. 16(1)
University of Stuttgart (DE), University of Science and Technology of China (CN), Hefei University of Technology (CN), University of Haripur (PK), Hefei National Center for Physical Sciences at Nanoscale (CN), Zhejiang University (CN)
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 10%
Quantum Computing Algorithms and Architecture
2.48
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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