Information Thermodynamics in a Quantum Dot Szilard Engine - Experimentally Investigating Fluctuation Theorems and Thermodynamic Uncertainty Relations

Abstract

In Szilard's engine, measurement and feedback allows to extract work from an equilibrium environment, a process otherwise forbidden by the laws of thermodynamics. Recent theoretical developments have established fluctuation theorems and thermodynamic uncertainty relations that constrain the fluctuations in Szilard's engine. These relations rely on auxiliary experimental protocols known as backward experiments. Here, we experimentally investigate the thermodynamics of Szilard's engine by implementing two distinct types of backward experiments. We verify and compare the corresponding fluctuation theorems and thermodynamic uncertainty relations associated with each protocol. Our results reveal that the entropy production inferable from measurement may serve as a more relevant quantifier of information than the widely used mutual information.