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Harnessing fluctuations in thermodynamic computing via time-reversal symmetries

Gregory Wimsatt1,*, Olli-Pentti Saira2,†, Alexander B. Boyd1,‡, Matthew H. Matheny2,§, Siyuan Han3,∥, Michael L. Roukes2,¶, and James P. Crutchfield1,2,#

  • 1Complexity Sciences Center and Physics Department, University of California at Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, California 95616, USA
  • 2Condensed Matter Physics and Kavli Nanoscience Institute, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
  • 3Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, USA

  • *gwwimsatt@ucdavis.edu
  • †osaira@caltech.edu
  • ‡abboyd@ucdavis.edu
  • §matheny@caltech.edu
  • ∥han@ku.edu
  • roukes@caltech.edu
  • #Corresponding author: chaos@ucdavis.edu
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Phys. Rev. Research 3, 033115 – Published 5 August, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.3.033115

Abstract

We experimentally demonstrate that highly structured distributions of work emerge during even the simple task of erasing a single bit. These are signatures of a refined suite of time-reversal symmetries in distinct functional classes of microscopic trajectories. As a consequence, we introduce a broad family of conditional fluctuation theorems that the component work distributions must satisfy. Since they identify entropy production, the component work distributions encode the frequency of various mechanisms of both success and failure during computing, as well giving improved estimates of the total irreversibly dissipated heat. This new diagnostic tool provides strong evidence that thermodynamic computing at the nanoscale can be constructively harnessed. We experimentally verify this functional decomposition and the new class of fluctuation theorems by measuring transitions between flux states in a superconducting circuit.

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Phys. Rev. Research 3, 033115– Published 5 August, 2021
  • Received 29 January 2021
  • Accepted 21 June 2021
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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