Optimal measurement-based quantum thermal machines in a finite-size system

Quantum Physics [Submitted on 26 Mar 2026] Optimal measurement-based quantum thermal machines in a finite-size system Chinonso Onah, Obinna Uzoh, Obinna Abah We present a measurement-based quantum thermal machine that extracts work from the back-action of generalized quantum measurements whose working medium is a coupled two-level quantum system. Specifically, we derive universal optimization criteria for a three-stroke measurement-based engine cycle with coupled two-level system of Ising-like interaction as a working medium. Furthermore, we present two numerical algorithms to optimize the engine work extraction and enhance its performance. Our numerical results demonstrate: (i) efficiency peaks in the projective-measurement limit; (ii) symmetry breaking (detuning or weak coupling) enlarges the exploitable energy gap; and (iii) performance remains robust (>50\% of optimum) under \sim\!10^\circ feedback-pulse errors. The framework is platform-agnostic and directly implementable with current superconducting, trapped-ion, or NMR technologies, providing a concrete route to scalable, measurement-powered quantum thermal machines. Subjects: Quantum Physics (quant-ph); Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall); Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech); Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) Cite as: arXiv:2603.25128 [quant-ph]   (or arXiv:2603.25128v1 [quant-ph] for this version)   https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2603.25128 Focus to learn more Submission history From: Chinonso Onah [view email] [v1] Thu, 26 Mar 2026 07:51:16 UTC (790 KB) Access Paper: HTML (experimental) view license Current browse context: quant-ph < prev   |   next > new | recent | 2026-03 Change to browse by: cond-mat cond-mat.mes-hall cond-mat.stat-mech cond-mat.str-el References & Citations INSPIRE HEP NASA ADS Google Scholar Semantic Scholar Export BibTeX Citation Bookmark Bibliographic Tools Bibliographic and Citation Tools Bibliographic Explorer Toggle Bibliographic Explorer (What is the Explorer?) Connected Papers Toggle Connected Papers (What is Connected Papers?) Litmaps Toggle Litmaps (What is Litmaps?) scite.ai Toggle scite Smart Citations (What are Smart Citations?) Code, Data, Media Demos Related Papers About arXivLabs Which authors of this paper are endorsers? | Disable MathJax (What is MathJax?)