{
  "abstract": "Engineering the properties of a reservoir and its coupling to a quantum system is a powerful tool for simulating quantum thermodynamic processes and for generating otherwise inaccessible steady states. Yet tailoring both the reservoir and its coupling within a single platform remains challenging. Here we introduce a platform, in which an ancilla qubit mediates the coupling of a target system to a reservoir, providing independent control over the interaction form, coupling strength, and effective reservoir temperature. Our implementation uses the electron spin of a single nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond as the ancilla and a proximal $^{13}$C nuclear spin as the target. By alternating engineered unitary interactions with dissipative ancilla resets, we realize dynamics naturally described by a collision model, enabling straight-forward tracking of the work, heat, coherence, and entropy generated at every collision. We experimentally demonstrate conventional thermalization and also realize anti-thermalization: the stabilization of the target system in a temperature opposite to that of its reservoir. Finally, harnessing this steady-state engineering, we utilize the nuclear spin as a quantum battery, achieving a steady-state ergotropy exceeding $70\\%$ of the theoretical maximum.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2609.04905",
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Soham Pal"
    },
    {
      "name": "Karen Hovhannisyan"
    },
    {
      "name": "Omri Porat"
    },
    {
      "name": "Shovan Dutta"
    },
    {
      "name": "Janet Anders"
    },
    {
      "name": "Helena Knowles"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/019b312445e0v.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2609.04905",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "019b312445e0v",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.04905",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "LicenseRef-arXiv-nonexclusive-1.0",
  "licence_label": "arXiv licence",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "quant-ph"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3109|Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7211891003",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.04905",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-04",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/019b312445e0v.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:14Z",
      "native_id": "2609.04905",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.04905"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:quant-ph",
      "subfield": "quantum"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Ancilla mediated steady-state engineering in open quantum systems",
  "title_text": "Ancilla mediated steady-state engineering in open quantum systems",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:19:14Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/019b312445e0v",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}