Autonomous conversion of information to work in quantum dots

We consider an autonomous implementation of Maxwell's demon in a quantum dot architecture acting on a system without changing its number of particles or its energy. As in the original thought experiment, only the second law of thermodynamics is seemingly violated when disregarding the demon. Th...

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Main Authors: Rafael Sánchez, Peter Samuelsson, Patrick P. Potts
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Physical Society 2019-10-01
Series:Physical Review Research
Online Access:http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.1.033066
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author Rafael Sánchez
Peter Samuelsson
Patrick P. Potts
author_facet Rafael Sánchez
Peter Samuelsson
Patrick P. Potts
author_sort Rafael Sánchez
collection DOAJ
description We consider an autonomous implementation of Maxwell's demon in a quantum dot architecture acting on a system without changing its number of particles or its energy. As in the original thought experiment, only the second law of thermodynamics is seemingly violated when disregarding the demon. The autonomous architecture allows us to compare descriptions in terms of information to a more traditional, thermoelectric characterization. Our detailed investigation of information-to-work conversion is based on fluctuation relations and second-law-like inequalities in addition to the average heat and charge currents. By introducing a time reversal on the level of individual electrons, we find a fluctuation relation that is not connected to any symmetry of the moment-generating function of heat and particle flows. Furthermore, we show how an effective Markovian master equation with broken detailed balance for the system alone can emerge from a full description, allowing for an investigation of the entropic cost associated with breaking detailed balance. Interestingly, while the entropic cost of performing a perfect measurement diverges, the entropic cost of breaking detailed balance does not. Our results connect various approaches and idealized scenarios found in the literature and can be tested experimentally with present-day technology.
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spelling doaj.art-1c3579716b3a440ab77f74ff11adfcff2024-04-12T16:46:31ZengAmerican Physical SocietyPhysical Review Research2643-15642019-10-011303306610.1103/PhysRevResearch.1.033066Autonomous conversion of information to work in quantum dotsRafael SánchezPeter SamuelssonPatrick P. PottsWe consider an autonomous implementation of Maxwell's demon in a quantum dot architecture acting on a system without changing its number of particles or its energy. As in the original thought experiment, only the second law of thermodynamics is seemingly violated when disregarding the demon. The autonomous architecture allows us to compare descriptions in terms of information to a more traditional, thermoelectric characterization. Our detailed investigation of information-to-work conversion is based on fluctuation relations and second-law-like inequalities in addition to the average heat and charge currents. By introducing a time reversal on the level of individual electrons, we find a fluctuation relation that is not connected to any symmetry of the moment-generating function of heat and particle flows. Furthermore, we show how an effective Markovian master equation with broken detailed balance for the system alone can emerge from a full description, allowing for an investigation of the entropic cost associated with breaking detailed balance. Interestingly, while the entropic cost of performing a perfect measurement diverges, the entropic cost of breaking detailed balance does not. Our results connect various approaches and idealized scenarios found in the literature and can be tested experimentally with present-day technology.http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.1.033066
spellingShingle Rafael Sánchez
Peter Samuelsson
Patrick P. Potts
Autonomous conversion of information to work in quantum dots
Physical Review Research
title Autonomous conversion of information to work in quantum dots
title_full Autonomous conversion of information to work in quantum dots
title_fullStr Autonomous conversion of information to work in quantum dots
title_full_unstemmed Autonomous conversion of information to work in quantum dots
title_short Autonomous conversion of information to work in quantum dots
title_sort autonomous conversion of information to work in quantum dots
url http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.1.033066
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