Minimally dissipative information erasure in a quantum dot via thermodynamic length

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that using thermodynamic length to optimize protocols in quantum dot erasure reduces dissipation, especially in slow and near-equilibrium regimes, by experimentally implementing geometric optimization techniques.

Contribution

It introduces a geometric optimization method for thermodynamic protocols in quantum dots, showing experimentally that geodesic drivings minimize dissipation compared to linear protocols.

Findings

Geodesic protocols minimize dissipation in slow driving regimes.

Geometric optimization reduces dissipation even away from slow driving.

Constant dissipation rate characterizes optimal finite-time thermodynamic processes.

Abstract

In this work we explore the use of thermodynamic length to improve the performance of experimental protocols. In particular, we implement Landauer erasure on a driven electron level in a semiconductor quantum dot, and compare the standard protocol in which the energy is increased linearly in time with the one coming from geometric optimisation. The latter is obtained by choosing a suitable metric structure, whose geodesics correspond to optimal finite-time thermodynamic protocols in the slow driving regime. We show experimentally that geodesic drivings minimise dissipation for slow protocols, with a bigger improvement as one approaches perfect erasure. Moreover, the geometric approach also leads to smaller dissipation even when the time of the protocol becomes comparable with the equilibration timescale of the system, i.e., away from the slow driving regime. Our results also illustrate, in a single-electron device, a fundamental principle of thermodynamic geometry: optimal finite-time thermodynamic protocols are those with constant dissipation rate along the process.