Work extraction from quantum coherence in non-equilibrium environment

TL;DR

This paper investigates how quantum coherence affects work extraction in non-equilibrium environments, showing that non-equilibrium conditions enhance the efficiency of ergotropy-based work extraction in both Markovian and non-Markovian regimes.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of ergotropy dynamics in non-equilibrium environments, including both coherent and incoherent contributions, highlighting improved work extraction efficiency.

Findings

Non-equilibrium environments enable more efficient work extraction.

Both coherent and incoherent ergotropy are considered in the analysis.

Work extraction efficiency is higher in non-equilibrium compared to equilibrium environments.

Abstract

Ergotropy, as a measure for extractable work from a quantum system, has garnered significant attention due to its relevance in quantum thermodynamics and information processing. In this work, the dynamics of ergotropy will be investigated in a nonequilibrium environment for both Markovian and non-Markovian regime. In this study, both the coherent and incoherent parts of the ergotropy will be considered. It will be shown that for a non-equilibrium environment, the extraction of work is more efficient compared to when the environment is in equilibrium.