Impossibility of universal work extraction from coherence: reconciling axiomatic and resource-theory approaches

Journal article

We compare how the impossibility of a universal work extractor from coherence arises from different approaches to quantum thermodynamics: an explicit protocol accounting for all relevant quantum resources, and axiomatic, information-theoretic constraints imposed by constructor theory. We first explain how the impossibility of a universal work extractor from coherence is directly implied by a recently proposed constructor-theoretic theorem based on distinguishability, which is scale- and dynamics- independent. Then we give an explicit demonstration of this result within quantum theory, by proving the impossibility of generalising a proposed quantum protocol for deterministically extracting work from coherence. We demonstrate a new connection between the impossibility of universal work extractors and constructor-based irreversibility, which was recently shown using the quantum homogenizer. Finally we discuss additional avenues for applying the constructor-theoretic formulation of work extraction to quantum thermodynamics, including the irreversibility of quantum computation and thermodynamics of multiple conserved quantities.

Authors: Plesnik, S; Violaris, M

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: IOP Publishing
• Journal: New Journal of Physics
• Volume: 26
• Issue: 10
• Article number: 103019
• Publication date: 2024-10-18
• Acceptance date: 2024-09-25
• DOI: 10.1088/1367-2630/ad7f7c
• EISSN: 1367-2630
• Language: English
• Keywords: constructor theory; coherence; work extraction; axiomatic; resource theory