Thermodynamic Geometry Links Information to Energy Gaps

Researchers have identified a factor determining the energetic benefit of conditional control in quantum systems: a “passive spectral rearrangement vector.” The work, by J. G. G. de Oliveira, Jr. of the State University of Santa Cruz and researchers from the Federal University of Paraná, University of Manchester, and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, demonstrates that while information is crucial, quantities like Holevo information and accessible distinguishability alone are insufficient to pinpoint thermodynamic value. Specifically, the team found that pairing this vector with the Hamiltonian energy-gap structure exactly determines the advantage gained through conditional control. This result reveals that informationally equivalent ensembles can possess different thermodynamic values,…