Information Thermodynamics: Maxwell's Demon in Nonequilibrium Dynamics

Abstract

We review theory of information thermodynamics which incorporates effects of measurement and feedback into nonequilibrium thermodynamics of a small system, and discuss how the second law of thermodynamics should be extended for such situations. We address the issue of the maximum work that can be extracted from the system in the presence of a feedback controller (Maxwell's demon) and provide a few illustrative examples. We also review a recent experiment that realized a Maxwell's demon based on a feedback-controlled ratchet.

This article will be published in: R. Klages, W. Just, C. Jarzynski (Eds.), "Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Small Systems: Fluctuation Relations and Beyond" (Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2012; ISBN 978-3-527-41094-1)