Nonequilibrium thermodynamics of erasure with superconducting flux logic

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a superconducting flux logic system capable of thermally driven bit reset, with real-time monitoring and work estimation, aligning with fluctuation theorems, advancing thermodynamically efficient computing.

Contribution

It introduces a method for monitoring and analyzing thermodynamic work during logical erasure in superconducting flux logic, validated against theoretical predictions.

Findings

Work histograms match microscopic theory

Fluctuation theorems are confirmed

High-speed thermodynamic efficiency demonstrated

Abstract

We implement a thermal-fluctuation driven logical bit reset on a superconducting flux logic cell. We show that the logical state of the system can be continuously monitored with only a small perturbation to the thermally activated dynamics at 500 mK. We use the trajectory information to derive a single-shot estimate of the work performed on the system per logical cycle. We acquire a sample of $10^5$ erasure trajectories per protocol, and show that the work histograms agree with both microscopic theory and global fluctuation theorems. The results demonstrate how to design and diagnose complex, high-speed, and thermodynamically efficient computing using superconducting technology.