A quantum Szilard engine for two-level systems coupled to a qubit

The innate complexity of solid state physics exposes superconducting quantum circuits to interactions with uncontrolled degrees of freedom degrading their coherence. By using a simple stabilization sequence we show that a superconducting fluxonium qubit is coupled to a two-level system (TLS) environment of unknown origin, with a relatively long energy relaxation time exceeding $50\,\text{ms}$. Implementing a quantum Szilard engine with an active feedback control loop allows us to decide whether the qubit heats or cools its TLS environment. The TLSs can be cooled down resulting in a four times lower qubit population, or they can be heated to manifest themselves as a negative temperature environment corresponding to a qubit population of $\sim 80\,\%$. We show that the TLSs and the qubit are each other's dominant loss mechanism and that the qubit relaxation is independent of the TLS populations. Understanding and mitigating TLS environments is therefore not only crucial to improve qubit lifetimes but also to avoid non-Markovian qubit dynamics