Experimental extractable work-based multipartite separability criteria

A thermodynamic theory of quantum entanglement as well as the establishment of rigorous formal connections between the laws of thermodynamics and the phenomenology of entanglement are currently open areas of investigation. In this quest, a core problem is embodied by the understanding of the role that entanglement plays in processes of work extraction. Here, by considering information thermodynamics-based protocols, we answer the question “Is it possible to infer, quantitatively, quantum correlations by considering work-extraction schemes?”. Our experimental settings consist of suitably designed multi-photon optical interferometers able to address the case of both bipartite and multipartite entangled states. We compare the performance of such criteria to that of witnesses of entanglement based on the violation of Bell-like tests, showing their inherently different nature. Our work contributes strongly to the ongoing efforts in establishing photonic systems as a platform for experiments in information thermodynamics.