Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a method to effectively reverse time in quantum systems, enabling energy harvesting for potential use in quantum batteries. The technique counteracts the effects of measurements on qubits, making systems appear to run backwards. This could turn measurements into a thermodynamic resource.
Luis Pedro García-Pintos and his colleagues at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico have found a way to mimic the reversal of time's arrow in quantum systems. By reverse-engineering the changes caused by measurements, they apply fields and control tools to undo these effects. “We apply fields and control tools on the system that can undo what is happening due to the measurements,” García-Pintos said. “If the measurement was going to push my system up, I can make it go back down. Because we’re able to counteract the effective measurements, we can produce trajectories that are more consistent with the process having been backwards than forward.”