Thermodynamics of Internal Correlations

Abstract: Previous research has consistently affirmed that Maxwell's demon must adhere to the second law of thermodynamics. Yet, the unresolved question remains whether the profitability and indispensability of information, which we routinely take for granted, are based on constraints stemming from physical laws. This paper reports a novel generalization of the second law of thermodynamics, answering that when internal correlations, i.e., correlations between subsystems of resource, are intended to be exploited, information is indispensable to extract free energy. Furthermore, the internal correlations, which can grow linearly with the number of subsystems in the resource, allow for control with information that yields significant gains, dwarfing the negligible operational costs in the thermodynamic limit. Thus, the generalized second law presented herein can be interpreted as a fundamental physical principle that ensures the benefit and inevitability of information processing in thermodynamics.