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We have simulated numerically an automated version of Maxwell's demon inspired by Smoluchowski's ideas of 1912. Two gas chambers of equal volume are connected via an opening that is covered by a trapdoor. The trapdoor can open to the left…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2007-05-23 P. A. Skordos , W. H. Zurek

Maxwell's demon explores the role of information in physical processes. Employing information about microscopic degrees of freedom, this "intelligent observer" is capable of compensating entropy production (or extracting work), apparently…

In scenarios coined Maxwell's demon, information on microscopic degrees of freedom is used to seemingly violate the second law of thermodynamics. This has been studied in the classical as well as the quantum domain. In this paper, we study…

We present an autonomous Maxwell's demon scheme. It is first analysed theoretically in term of information exchange in a closed system and then implemented experimentally with a single Rydberg atom and a high-quality microwave resonator.…

In apparent contradiction to the laws of thermodynamics, Maxwell's demon is able to cyclically extract work from a system in contact with a thermal bath exploiting the information about its microstate. The resolution of this paradox…

A previously published model of the isothermal Maxwell demon as one of models of open quantum systems endowed with faculty of selforganization is reconstructed here. It describes an open quantum system interacting with a single…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2009-10-31 V. Capek , J. Bok

Quantum Szilard engine constitutes an adequate interplay of thermodynamics, information theory and quantum mechanics. Szilard engines are in general operated by a Maxwell's Demon where Landauer's principle resolves the apparent paradoxes.…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2020-04-22 Alhun Aydin , Altug Sisman , Ronnie Kosloff

In Szilard's engine, a demon measures a one-particle gas and applies feedback to extract work from thermal fluctuations, embodying Maxwell's notion that information reduces thermodynamic entropy - an apparent second-law violation. The…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2025-08-26 Xiangjun Xing

Maxwell's demon was born in 1867 and still thrives in modern physics. He plays important roles in clarifying the connections between two theories: thermodynamics and information. Here, we present the history of the demon and a variety of…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2009-01-13 Koji Maruyama , Franco Nori , Vlatko Vedral

Almost all processes -- highly correlated, weakly correlated, or correlated not at all---exhibit statistical fluctuations. Often physical laws, such as the Second Law of Thermodynamics, address only typical realizations -- as highlighted by…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2016-09-09 James P. Crutchfield , Cina Aghamohammadi

A quantum mechanical Maxwell demon is proposed in a quantum dot setting. The demon avoids continuous-measurement induced decoherence by exploiting an undetailed charge detector. The control of coherent tunneling via…

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics · Physics 2026-03-10 Lucas Trigal , Rafael Sánchez

The resolution of the Maxwell's demon paradox linked thermodynamics with information theory through information erasure principle. By considering a demon endowed with a Turing-machine consisting of a memory tape and a processor, we attempt…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2015-11-30 Akio Hosoya , Koji Maruyama , Yutaka Shikano

An interesting preprint by Puru Gujrati, "Maxwell's Demon Must Remain Subservient to Clausius' Statement" [ of the Second Law of Thermodynamics ], traces the development and application of Maxwell's Demon. He argues against the Demon on…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2022-01-11 William Graham Hoover , Carol Griswold Hoover

We propose a setup based on two coupled quantum dots where thermodynamics of a measurement can be quantitatively characterized. The information obtained in the measurement can be utilized by performing feedback in a manner apparently…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2016-04-06 Aki Kutvonen , Takahiro Sagawa , Tapio Ala-Nissilä

Starting from 2002, at least two kinds of laboratory-testable, solid-state Maxwell demons have been proposed that utilize the electric field energy of an open-gap n-p junction and that seem to challenge the validity of the Second Law of…

Classical Physics · Physics 2013-04-17 Germano D'Abramo

The classical Second Law of Thermodynamics demands that an isolated system evolves with a non-diminishing entropy. This holds as well in quantum mechanics if the evolution of the energy-isolated system can be described by a unital quantum…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2018-05-01 N. S. Kirsanov , A. V. Lebedev , M. V. Suslov , V. M. Vinokur , G. Blatter , G. B. Lesovik

We propose and analyze Maxwell's demon based on a single qubit with avoided level crossing. Its operation cycle consists of adiabatic drive to the point of minimum energy separation, measurement of the qubit state, and conditional feedback.…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2016-01-20 J. P. Pekola , D. S. Golubev , D. V. Averin

After presenting possible motives for fighting against the second law of thermodynamics, several attempts to beat this law are analyzed. The second law wins, but an interesting interpretation of it emerges. This interpretation uses the…

adap-org · Physics 2015-06-30 Jorge Berger

Adiabatic measurements, followed by feedback and erasure protocols, have often been considered as a model to embody Maxwell's Demon paradox and to study the interplay between thermodynamics and information processing. Such studies have led…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2025-02-11 Shintaro Minagawa , M. Hamed Mohammady , Kenta Sakai , Kohtaro Kato , Francesco Buscemi

We analyze a quantum Maxwell demon operating a Szilard engine in free fall near a black hole horizon, where quantum information, thermodynamics, and spacetime causality intersect. The demon is modeled as a coherent two-level system, and the…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2026-05-12 Hamed Hadi , Amin Rezaei Akbarieh , Goksel Daylan Esmer