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arXiv · 1604.05474

Biochemical machines for the interconversion of mutual information and work

Thomas McGrath·Nick S. Jones·Pieter Rein ten Wolde·Thomas E. Ouldridge
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Abstract

We propose a physically-realisable biochemical device that is coupled to a biochemical reservoir of mutual information, fuel molecules and a chemical bath. Mutual information allows work to be done on the bath even when the fuel molecules appear to be in equilibrium; alternatively, mutual information can be created by driving from the fuel or the bath. The system exhibits diverse behaviour, including a regime in which the information, despite increasing during the reaction, enhances the extracted work. We further demonstrate that a modified device can function without the need for external manipulation, eliminating the need for a complex and potentially costly control.

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Thomas McGrath, Nick S. Jones, Pieter Rein ten Wolde, Thomas E. Ouldridge. 2016-11-26. Biochemical machines for the interconversion of mutual information and work. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.118.028101

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