Experimental Verification of Demon-Involved Fluctuation Theorems Advances Understanding of Information and Thermodynamics

A recent paper titled "Experimental Verification of Demon-Involved Fluctuation Theorems" by L.-L. Yan and ten co-authors presents significant findings in the field of quantum physics. The research focuses on the concept of the Maxwell demon, a thought experiment that illustrates the relationship between information and thermodynamics. The authors conducted experiments using an ultracold 40Ca ion system to verify newly proposed fluctuation theorems, which describe the limits of energy savings in small systems.

The experiments confirmed the intrinsic nonequilibrium nature of the system when influenced by the demon. By employing carefully designed control protocols, including the Szilard engine protocol, the researchers provided quantitative evidence of dissipative information. They observed tighter bounds on both the extracted work and the efficacy of the demon than those predicted by the Sagawa-Ueda theorem.

These results highlight a close connection between the physical nature of information and nonequilibrium processes at the microscale. This understanding may advance the design of nanoscale systems and enhance our grasp of the thermodynamic characteristics of information. The findings are expected to have implications for various applications in quantum computing and information theory, potentially leading to more efficient energy management in small systems.

The paper can be cited as follows: Yan, L.-L., Bu, J.-T., Zeng, Q., Zhang, K., Cui, K.-F., Zhou, F., Su, S.-L., Chen, L., Wang, J., Chen, G., & Feng, M. (2024). Experimental Verification of Demon-Involved Fluctuation Theorems. arXiv:2408.16997.