Work extraction via local gates and phase transitions in open quantum systems

Abstract In this mini-review, we discuss work extraction under restricted control, where only the system is accessible while other degrees of freedom remain uncontrolled. In this setting, local ergotropy is the maximum work extractable by cyclic unitaries on the system, and it can differ strongly from “switch-off” extraction after quenching the system-environment coupling. We review two settings where correlations and many-body effects shape local work. First, in a two-qubit quantum Rabi model, dissipation induces a Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless quantum phase transition. A gate-based charge-store-extract protocol uses a decoherence-free state to stabilize storage and makes strong system-bath coupling a resource, yielding local ergotropy above switch-off extraction and making its dynamics transition-dependent, also in relative fluctuations. Second, in a disordered XXZ chain where the first two spins form a battery coupled to an interacting spin bath, local ergotropy shows distinct long-time behavior across Anderson, many-body localized, and ergodic regimes, linking extractable work to localization transitions. Overall, the examples reviewed here show that local ergotropic observables quantify quantum-battery performance under local control and probe collective phenomena.