Directional charging of topological quantum energy-storage devices driven by the non-Hermitian skin effect
Phys. Rev. A 114, 023712 – Published 13 August, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/5nzx-mvpt
Abstract
The skin effect is a phenomenon characterized by the exponential localization of wave functions at a boundary in non-Hermitian topological systems, demonstrating potential applications in the field of quantum information. Here we explore its application in optimizing the performance of quantum energy-storage devices. We employ the Hatano-Nelson chain as a non-Hermitian topological charger to concentrate energy on one side of the coupled quantum energy-storage devices via the skin effect. Numerical results indicate that compared to the ordinary charger, the non-Hermitian topological charger surpasses the thermal mean photon number limit, leading to a significant increase in both the charging power and steady-state stored energy of the quantum energy-storage device. By enhancing the asymmetric coupling strength within the non-Hermitian topological charger, the stored energy of quantum energy-storage devices can be elevated. As the number of harmonic oscillators in the charger increases, the storage energy rises accordingly. In particular, under a purely rightward coupling configuration in the non-Hermitian topological charger, the stored energy in the quantum energy-storage device scales linearly with the number of harmonic oscillators. Additionally, since the composite system formed by the non-Hermitian topological charger and the quantum energy-storage device is itself a non-Hermitian topological system, it exhibits strong robustness against parameter disorder during the charging process. The proposed model can be implemented on various quantum platforms and holds enlightening significance for the research on high-performance quantum energy-storage devices.
