Time-energy tradeoff in stochastic resetting using optimal control

TL;DR

This paper introduces an optimal control protocol for stochastic resetting that minimizes energy expenditure while maintaining a finite search time, providing a fundamental bound on the tradeoff between energy and time in search processes.

Contribution

It develops a novel optimal transport protocol for stochastic resetting that balances energy and time costs, outperforming existing methods in thermodynamic efficiency.

Findings

The protocol minimizes energetic cost for a given search time.

It provides bounds on the energy-time tradeoff in stochastic resetting.

The method outperforms other finite-time protocols in thermodynamic efficiency.

Abstract

Stochastic resetting is a driving mechanism that is known to minimize the first passage time to reach a target, at the cost of energy expenditure. The choice of the physical implementation of each resetting event determines the tradeoff between the acceleration of the search process and its energetic cost. Here, we present an optimal transport protocol that balances the duration and the energetic cost of each resetting event. This protocol drives a harmonically trapped Brownian particle between two equilibrium states within a finite time and with minimal energetic cost. An explicit comparison with other types of finite-time protocols further shows its specific thermodynamic properties. Its cost is both a lower bound on the cost of unoptimized shortcut protocols and an upper bound on the cost of optimal protocols which do not ensure final equilibrium. When applying the optimal transport protocol to implement stochastic resetting, a single lower time-energy bound is reached: this protocol allows to reach the best tradeoff between energetic cost and search time.