Operational Quasiprobability in Quantum Thermodynamics: Work Extraction by Coherence and Non-joint Measurability

Abstract

We employ the operational quasiprobability (OQ) as a work distribution, which reproduces the Jarzynski equality and yields the average work consistent with the classical definition. The OQ distribution can be experimentally implemented through the end-point measurement and the two-point measurement scheme. Using this framework, we demonstrate the explicit contribution of coherence to the fluctuation, the average, and the second moment of work. In a two-level system, we show that non-joint measurability, a generalized notion of measurement incompatibility, can increase the amount of extractable work beyond the classical bound imposed by jointly measurable measurements. We further prove that the real part of Kirkwood-Dirac quasiprobability (KDQ) and the OQ are equivalent in two-level systems, and they are nonnegative for binary unbiased measurements if and only if the measurements are jointly measurable. In a three-level Nitrogen-vacancy center system, the OQ and the KDQ exhibit different amounts of negativities while enabling the same work extraction, implying that the magnitude of negativity is not a faithful indicator of nonclassical work. These results highlight that coherence and non-joint measurability play fundamental roles in the enhancement of work.