Correlations in a quantum switch-based heat engine with measurements: a proof-of-principle demonstration

Abstract Allowing the order of quantum operations to exist in superposition is known to open new routes for thermodynamic tasks. We investigate a quantum heat engine where energy exchanges are driven by generalized measurements, and the sequence of these operations is coherently controlled in a superposition of causal orders. Our analysis explores how initial correlations between the working medium and the controller affect the engine’s performance. Considering uncorrelated, classically correlated, and entangled initial states, we show that entanglement enables the superposed causal order (SCO) to generate coherence in the working medium, thereby enhancing work extraction and efficiency beyond the separable and uncorrelated cases. Finally, we present a proof-of-principle simulation on the IBM Quantum Experience platform, realizing a quantum switch of two measurement channels with tunable strengths and experimentally confirming the predicted efficiency enhancement enabled by correlation-assisted SCO.