Information Engine Fueled by First-Passage Times

Using a mechanical cantilever submitted to electrostatic feedback control, we investigate the thermodynamic properties of an information engine that extracts work from thermal fluctuations. The cantilever position is rapidly sampled and the feedback is triggered by the first passage of the system across a fixed threshold. The information ΔI associated with the feedback is based on the first-passage-time distribution. In this setting, we derive and experimentally verify two distinct fluctuation theorems that involve ΔI and give a tight bound on the work produced by the engine. Our results extend beyond the specific application to our experiment: we develop a general framework for obtaining fluctuation theorems and work bounds, formulated in terms of probability distributions of protocols rather than underlying measurement outcomes.

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Publication Details

Journal
Physical Review Letters
Published
2025-10-02
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1103/s9kj-lczm
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
2.65
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article

Information Engine Fueled by First-Passage Times

Christopher Jarzynski, Alberto Imparato, Aubin Archambault, S. Ciliberto et al.
2 citations
Physical Review Letters
Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics
2.65
article

Information Engine Fueled by First-Passage Times

Christopher Jarzynski, Alberto Imparato, Aubin Archambault, S. Ciliberto, Caroline Crauste-Thibierge, Ludovic Bellon
article en
2 citations

Abstract

Using a mechanical cantilever submitted to electrostatic feedback control, we investigate the thermodynamic properties of an information engine that extracts work from thermal fluctuations. The cantilever position is rapidly sampled and the feedback is triggered by the first passage of the system across a fixed threshold. The information ΔI associated with the feedback is based on the first-passage-time distribution. In this setting, we derive and experimentally verify two distinct fluctuation theorems that involve ΔI and give a tight bound on the work produced by the engine. Our results extend beyond the specific application to our experiment: we develop a general framework for obtaining fluctuation theorems and work bounds, formulated in terms of probability distributions of protocols rather than underlying measurement outcomes.

Physical Review LettersVol. 135(14)
École Normale Supérieure de Lyon (FR), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), University of Trieste (IT), Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (IT), Laboratoire de Physique de l'ENS de Lyon (FR), Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Trieste (IT), University of Maryland, College Park (US)
Openalex Percentile: Top 9%
Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics
2.65
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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Information Engine Fueled by First-Passage Times — Christopher Jarzynski, Alberto Imparato, et al. · Physical Review Letters (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS