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Emergent mirror symmetry in the optimization of the central-spin quantum battery

Hui-Yu Yang1, Kun Zhang1,2,3,4,*, Xiao-Hui Wang1,2,3,4,†, and Hai-Long Shi5,‡

  • 1School of Physics, Northwest University, Xi'an 710127, China
  • 2Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Theoretical Physics Frontiers, Xi'an 710127, China
  • 3Peng Huanwu Center for Fundamental Theory, Xi'an 710127, China
  • 4Fundamental Discipline Research Center for Quantum Science and Technology of Shaanxi Province, Xi'an 710127, China
  • 5INO-CNR and LENS, Largo Enrico Fermi 2, 50125 Firenze, Italy

  • *Contact author: kunzhang@nwu.edu.cn
  • †Contact author: xhwang@nwu.edu.cn
  • ‡Contact author: hailong.shi@ino.cnr.it
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Phys. Rev. B 114, 065402 – Published 6 July, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/sr8x-x2kr

Abstract

Quantum batteries provide a useful setting for exploring nonequilibrium many-body effects in energy storage. Here we investigate the optimization of a quantum battery based on the central-spin model. We identify two complementary structural indicators associated with the effective charging dynamics: one yields an upper bound on the average charging power, while the other characterizes the buildup of stored energy. We show that these two indicators are jointly optimized at a distinguished initial charger excitation number, which selects a particular Dicke sector of the model. At this common optimal point, the effective charging Hamiltonian becomes exactly mirror symmetric, suggesting mirror symmetry as a useful structural indicator for optimizing the performance of quantum batteries in terms of both charging power and energy storage. We further show that the corresponding optimal dynamics can be closely approximated by product initial states, in particular by spin coherent states whose excitation-number distribution is centered at the symmetry-selected point. Our results establish a direct connection between charging performance, optimal-state structure, and emergent symmetry in the central-spin quantum battery, and suggest symmetry as a useful organizing principle for efficient charging in interacting many-body quantum systems.

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Outline

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Phys. Rev. B 114, 065402– Published 6 July, 2026
  • Received 28 April 2026
  • Revised 11 June 2026
  • Accepted 15 June 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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