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, whereas any adversary must fail. 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. Finally, in a fully device-independent setting, we show how Bell nonlocality and self-testing translate observed violations into lower bounds on any adversary's erasure capability, yielding a device-independent notion of exclusive thermodynamic control. Taken together, these results elevate quantum erasure from a thermodynamic constraint to an operational primitive: the erasure work cost quantifies secure, exclusive control over quantum memory, ensuring that an unauthorized agent cannot fully erase information under a bounded work budget.

arXiv:2512.05761 [quant-ph]

(or arXiv:2512.05761v2 [quant-ph] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2512.05761 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite

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