Embedded Quantum Correlations in Thermalized Quantum Rabi Systems

We study the quantum correlations embedded in open quantum Rabi systems. Specifically, we study how the quantum correlation depends on the coupling strength, number of qubits, and reservoir temperatures. We numerically calculate the quantum correlations of up to three qubits interacting with a single field mode. We find that the embedded quantum correlations exhibit a maximum for a given coupling strength, which depends inversely on the number of subsystems and the reservoir temperature. We explore how this feature affects the performance of a many-qubit Otto heat engine, finding numerical evidence of a direct correspondence between the minimum of the extractable work and the maximum of the embedded quantum correlations in the qubit-cavity bipartition. Furthermore, as we increase the number of qubits, the maximum extractable work is reached at smaller values of the coupling strength. This paper could help design more sophisticated quantum heat engines that rely on many-body systems with embedded correlations as working substances. © 2023 American Physical Society.