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Main Authors: Grelier, Mathis, Sivak, David A., Ehrich, Jannik
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06690
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author Grelier, Mathis
Sivak, David A.
Ehrich, Jannik
author_facet Grelier, Mathis
Sivak, David A.
Ehrich, Jannik
contents Molecular motors fulfill critical functions within all living beings. Understanding their underlying working principles is therefore of great interest. Here we develop a simple model inspired by the two-component biomolecular motor Fo-F1 ATP synthase. We analyze its energetics and characterize information flows between the machine's components. At maximum output power we find that information transduction plays a minor role for free-energy transduction. However, when the two components are coupled to different environments (e.g., when in contact with heat baths at different temperatures), we show that information flow becomes a resource worth exploiting to maximize free-energy transduction. Our findings suggest that real-world powerful and efficient information engines could be found in machines whose components are subjected to fluctuations of different strength, since in this situation the benefit gained from using information for work extraction can outweigh the costs of information generation.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2304_06690
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Unlocking the potential of information flow: Maximizing free-energy transduction in a model of an autonomous rotary molecular motor
Grelier, Mathis
Sivak, David A.
Ehrich, Jannik
Statistical Mechanics
Molecular motors fulfill critical functions within all living beings. Understanding their underlying working principles is therefore of great interest. Here we develop a simple model inspired by the two-component biomolecular motor Fo-F1 ATP synthase. We analyze its energetics and characterize information flows between the machine's components. At maximum output power we find that information transduction plays a minor role for free-energy transduction. However, when the two components are coupled to different environments (e.g., when in contact with heat baths at different temperatures), we show that information flow becomes a resource worth exploiting to maximize free-energy transduction. Our findings suggest that real-world powerful and efficient information engines could be found in machines whose components are subjected to fluctuations of different strength, since in this situation the benefit gained from using information for work extraction can outweigh the costs of information generation.
title Unlocking the potential of information flow: Maximizing free-energy transduction in a model of an autonomous rotary molecular motor
topic Statistical Mechanics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06690