Exclusive Control of Quantum Memory Erasure

Abstract

Erasing memory is a fundamental operational task in quantum information processing, governed by Landauer's principle, which links information loss to thermodynamic work. We introduce and analyze assisted quantum erasure, where correlations with a remote system reduce the energetic cost of resetting a memory. We identify exclusive control of erasure as the central operational requirement: only a designated party should be able to achieve the minimal cost, while any adversary necessarily fails. In the device-dependent regime, we show that entanglement of formation exactly characterizes exclusivity, establishing entanglement as the decisive thermodynamic resource. Moving to a one-sided device-independent scenario, in which only the memory holder's device is trusted, we develop an operational erasure protocol based on random dephasing and conditional operations. These results elevate quantum erasure from a thermodynamic constraint to an operational primitive: the erasure work cost quantifies secure, exclusive control over quantum memory, guaranteeing that an unauthorized agent cannot fully erase information under bounded work.