Thermodynamics of computing with circuits

Autor: David H Wolpert, Artemy Kolchinsky
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: New Journal of Physics, Vol 22, Iss 6, p 063047 (2020)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1367-2630
DOI: 10.1088/1367-2630/ab82b8
Popis: Digital computers implement computations using circuits, as do many naturally occurring systems (e.g., gene regulatory networks). The topology of any such circuit restricts which variables may be physically coupled during the operation of the circuit. We investigate how such restrictions on the physical coupling affects the thermodynamic costs of running the circuit. To do this we first calculate the minimal additional entropy production that arises when we run a given gate in a circuit. We then build on this calculation, to analyze how the thermodynamic costs of implementing a computation with a full circuit, comprising multiple connected gates, depends on the topology of that circuit. This analysis provides a rich new set of optimization problems that must be addressed by any designer of a circuit, if they wish to minimize thermodynamic costs.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals