Topological information device operating at the Landauer limit

Official URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.108.235428

We propose and theoretically investigate a novel Maxwell's demon implementation based on the spin-momentum locking property of topological matter. We use nuclear spins as a memory resource which provides the advantage of scalability. We show that this topological information device can ideally operate at the Landauer limit; the heat dissipation required to erase one bit of information stored in the demon's memory approaches kBTln2. Furthermore, we demonstrate that all available energy, kBTln2 per one bit of information, can be extracted in the form of electrical work. Finally, we find that the current-voltage characteristic of topological information device satisfy the conditions of an ideal memristor.