Energetics of quantum correlations

Project Information

EQC

Grant agreement ID: 101149233

DOI

10.3030/101149233

EC signature date 8 April 2024

Start date 1 July 2024

End date 30 September 2026

Funded under

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

Total cost

No data

EU contribution

€ 164 031,48

Coordinated by

FUNDACIO INSTITUT DE CIENCIES FOTONIQUES
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - EQC (Energetics of quantum correlations)

Reporting period: 2024-07-01 to 2025-09-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Quantum technologies promise faster computing, ultra-precise sensing and secure communications. Their real-world value, however, also depends on how efficiently they use and manage energy at small scales. EQC studies how distinctively quantum features—entanglement, steering and Bell non-locality—shape work, heat and precision in devices. The goals are to (i) build an operational framework linking quantum correlations to thermodynamic performance, (ii) design testable protocols that turn those links into advantages, and (iii) chart a route to experimental demonstrations. Expected impacts range from laboratory proof-of-principle to design guidelines for energy-aware quantum hardware, supporting Europe’s twin green-and-digital priorities. Users include research groups in quantum information and thermodynamics and, longer term, developers of quantum processors, sensors and networks.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The project established a general framework connecting correlations to energy flows and fluctuations, with an emphasis on continuous-variable systems and non-Gaussian resources. We analysed when and how entanglement enhances precision/energetic performance (see public preprints arXiv:2505.24604). We introduced thermodynamic entanglement witnesses based on measurable observables ( arXiv:2505.24596 ) and developed cryptographic memory-erasure protocols that use entanglement and steering in both device-dependent and device-independent settings (manuscript in preparation). We initiated the most ambitious strand—Bell non-locality in thermodynamic scenarios—and surveyed feasible experimental platforms with partner laboratories to identify parameters where the predicted advantages should be observable. As a related contribution to the field, we studied energetics of quantum cryptography more broadly (arXiv:2410.10661).

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

EQC delivers (i) a unified, operational link between quantum correlations and thermodynamic performance; (ii) witnesses for detecting entanglement via thermodynamic signatures; and (iii) protocols that harness correlations for precision enhancement and exclusive-control memory erasure (including device-independent certification). Together, these results open new ways to evaluate and certify energetic advantages that cannot be mimicked classically. Needs for further uptake include targeted experimental validation on well-controlled platforms (e.g. photonic or cold-atom systems), access to low-noise measurements and non-Gaussian state preparation, and community benchmarks for energy/precision trade-offs. Results will be disseminated through open publications and, when applicable, open data/code in trusted repositories; potential intellectual-property opportunities around protocols and witnesses will be monitored.

Energetics of Quantum Correlations (EQC): Concept Map