Singular limit of an integrodifferential system related to the entropy balance

A thermodynamic model describing phase transitions with thermal memory, in terms of an entropy equation and a momentum balance for the microforces, is adressed. Convergence results and error estimates are proved for the related integrodifferential system of PDE as the sequence of memory kernels converges to a multiple of a Dirac delta, in a suitable sense.Comment: Key words: entropy equation, thermal memory, phase field model, nonlinear partial differential equations, asymptotics on the memory ter

Classical capacity of Gaussian thermal memory channels

The classical capacity of phase-invariant Gaussian channels has been recently determined under the assumption that such channels are memoryless. In this work we generalize this result by deriving the classical capacity of a model of quantum memory channel, in which the output states depend on the previous input states. In particular we extend the analysis of [C. Lupo, et al., PRL and PRA (2010)] from quantum limited channels to thermal attenuators and thermal amplifiers. Our result applies in many situations in which the physical communication channel is affected by nonzero memory and by thermal noise.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure

Landauer's erasure principle in a squeezed thermal memory

Landauer's erasure principle states that the irreversible erasure of a one-bit memory, embedded in a thermal environment, is accompanied with a work input of at least $k_{\text{B}}T\ln2$. Fundamental to that principle is the assumption that the physical states representing the two possible logical states are close to thermal equilibrium. Here, we propose and theoretically analyze a minimalist mechanical model of a one-bit memory operating with squeezed thermal states. It is shown that the Landauer energy bound is exponentially lowered with increasing squeezing factor. Squeezed thermal states, which may naturally arise in digital electronic circuits operating in a pulse-driven fashion, thus can be exploited to reduce the fundamental energy costs of an erasure operation.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Identification of a convolution kernel in a control problem for the heat equation with a boundary memory term

We consider the evolution of the temperature $u$ in a material with thermal memory characterized by a time-dependent convolution kernel $h$. The material occupies a bounded region $\Omega$ with a feedback device controlling the external temperature located on the boundary $\Gamma$. Assuming both $u$ and $h$ unknown, we formulate an inverse control problem for an integrodifferential equation with a nonlinear and nonlocal boundary condition. Existence and uniqueness results of a solution to the inverse problem are proved

Thermal bistability through coupled photonic resonances

We present a scheme for achieving thermal bistability based on the selective coupling of three optical resonances. This approach requires one of the resonant frequencies to be temperature dependent, which can occur in materials exhibiting strong thermo-optic effects. For illustration, we explore thermal bistability in two different passive systems, involving either a periodic array of Si ring resonators or parallel GaAs thin films separated by vacuum and exchanging heat in the near field. Such a scheme could prove useful for thermal memory devices operating with transition times $\lesssim$ hundreds of milliseconds

Thermal memory: a storage of phononic information

Memory is an indispensable element for computer besides logic gates. In this Letter we report a model of thermal memory. We demonstrate via numerical simulation that thermal (phononic) information stored in the memory can be retained for a long time without being lost and more importantly can be read out without being destroyed. The possibility of experimental realization is also discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures