An Imprecise Maxwell's Demon with Feedback Delay: An Exactly Solvable Information Engine Model

Abstract: A finite cycle time information engine based on a two-level system in contact with a thermal reservoir is studied analytically. The model for the engine incorporates an error in measuring the system's state and time delay between the measurement and the feedback process. The efficiency and power of the engine in steady state are derived as a function of level spacing, feedback delay time, engine cycle time, and measurement error. For a fixed value of level spacing and feedback delay, there is an upper bound on measurement error such that the engine can extract positive work. This threshold value of error is found to be independent of the cycle time. For a range of values of level spacing and feedback delay time, efficiency has a non-monotonic dependence on the measurement error, implying that there is an optimal measurement error for the information engine to operate efficiently. At high temperatures and with precise measurement, the engine's ability to extract positive work is extended over a larger range of feedback delay time.