Erasure without work in an asymmetric, double-well potential

Abstract: According to Landauer's principle, erasing a memory requires an average work of at least $kT\ln2$ per bit. Recent experiments have confirmed this prediction for a one-bit memory represented by a symmetric double-well potential. Here, we present an experimental study of erasure for a memory encoded in an asymmetric double-well potential. Using a feedback trap, we find that the average work to erase can be less than $kT\ln2$. Surprisingly, erasure protocols that differ subtly give measurably different values for the asymptotic work, a result we explain by showing that one protocol is symmetric with the respect to time reversal, while the other is not. The differences between the protocols help clarify the distinctions between thermodynamic and logical reversibility.