Workshop on Information Engines at the Frontiers of Nanoscale Thermodynamics
Abstract
Synthetic nanoscale machines, like their macromolecular biological counterparts, perform tasks that involve the simultaneous manipulation of energy, information, and matter. In this they are information engines systems with two inextricably intertwined characters. The first aspect, call it physical, is the one in which the system is seen embedded in a material substrate that is driven by, manipulates, stores, and dissipates energy. The second aspect, call it informational, is the one in which the system is seen in terms of its spatial and temporal organization generates, stores, loses, and transforms information. Information engines operate by synergistically balancing both aspects to support a given functionality, such as extracting work from a heat reservoir. Recent years witnessed remarkable progress in the theoretical understanding and experimental exploration of how physical systems compute, process, and transfer information. We are on the verge of a synthesis that will allow us to account for a new thermodynamics of information. As we continue to develop a deeper understanding of the world around us, the fundamental question arises, How does nature compute? Numerous researchers, both theorists and experimentalists, are working towards understanding how information is transferred through and transformed at the nanoscale Ð with applications ranging from biological systems to quantum devices. The aim of this workshop was to exchange ideas from research in Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics, Classical and Quantum Information, Statistical Mechanics, Biophysics, and Nonlinear Dynamics. These questions are relevant in a wide variety of fields including Nanoscale Statistical Mechanics, Finite-Time Thermodynamics, Quantum Thermodynamics, Quantum Computation, Quantum Communication, Quantum Optimal Control Theory, and Biological Physics. The workshop brought together experts from a diverse range of disciplines. Details are available online at http://csc.ucdavis.edu/TSRC_InfoEng_2017.html. Organizing Committee was James Crutchfield, Korana Burke, Tommy Byrd, and Sebastian Deffner. The workshop was held August 03 Ð August 11, 2017 at the Telluride Science Research Center, Telluride Intermediate School, 725 W Colorado Ave Telluride, CO 81435
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Oct 15, 2018
- Source ID
- W911NF1810271
Entities
People
- James P. Crutchfield
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- United States Army