Erasing a majority-logic bit

¹ Department of Physics, University of Luxembourg - Luxembourg, Luxembourg
² Hasselt University - B-3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium
³ Department of Physics, Simon Fraser University - Burnaby, B.C., V5A 1S6, Canada

Received: 29 October 2020
Accepted: 7 January 2021

Abstract

We study finite-time bit erasure in the context of majority-logic decoding. In particular, we calculate the minimum amount of work needed to erase a majority-logic bit when one has full control over the system dynamics. We show that although a single unit bit is easier to erase in the slow-driving limit, the majority-logic bit in general outperforms the single unit bit in the fast-erasure limit. Our results also suggest optimal design principles for majority-logic bits under limited control.