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Harnessing Higher-Dimensional Fluctuations in an Information Engine
Antonio Patrón Castro1, John Bechhoefer1, David A Sivak1
1Simon Fraser University, Department of Physics, Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6, Canada.
Physical Review Letters
|February 16, 2026
Summary
This study shows that harnessing thermal fluctuations perpendicular to gravity improves information engine performance. Feedback cooling enhances energy extraction, outperforming engines relying solely on vertical measurements.
Area of Science:
- Statistical mechanics
- Thermodynamics
- Brownian motion
Background:
- Information engines convert information into work.
- Overdamped Brownian motion describes particle movement in viscous fluids.
- Gravity influences particle dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate optimal performance of a d-dimensional information engine.
- To maximize gravitational potential energy extraction using feedback control.
- To analyze the role of thermal fluctuations in engine efficiency.
Main Methods:
- Simulating an overdamped Brownian bead in a controllable harmonic trap.
- Implementing a feedback protocol for trap center updates without external work.
- Analyzing energy extraction and directed motion.
Main Results:
- Performance improves by harnessing transverse thermal fluctuations.
- Feedback cooling of transverse degrees of freedom extracts heat.
- Engines using a single transverse degree outperform vertical-only engines.
Conclusions:
- Transverse fluctuations enhance information engine efficiency.
- Engine design modularizes fluctuation harnessing and energy storage.
- The system draws parallels to the Szilard engine.
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