{
  "abstract": "We present a unified theoretical, numerical, and experimental investigation into autonomous information heat\n\nengines (Maxwell’s demons), bridging microscopic open quantum thermodynamics, stochastic continuous moni-\n\ntoring, deep reinforcement learning, and practical energy harvesting engineering. First, addressing widespread\n\nnumerical pitfalls in quantum thermodynamics simulations, we identify an operator sign inversion in detailed-\n\nbalance jump rates that previously simulated an unphysical “perpetual motion machine” yielding −19.29 kB T .\n\nOnce corrected via adaptive Runge-Kutta integration, we prove that single-step work extraction from maximally\n\nentangled Bell states is strictly bounded by kB T ln 2, and that the cyclic entropy accounting of entanglement re-\n\ngeneration imposes a net non-negative work cost (Wnet ≥ 0), establishing quantum entanglement as a consumed\n\nthermodynamic fuel rather than a violation of the Second Law. Second, using positive-preserving Rouchon-Ralph\n\nstochastic master equation mappings across 48 trajectory ensembles, we evaluate an Information Conveyor Belt\n\nin a 10-dot chain under continuous homodyne detection. We demonstrate that while an isolated cryogenic demon\n\nreservoir (TM = 4.2 K) enables positive extracted power, incorporating the mandatory Carnot refrigeration over-\n\nhead required to maintain the cryostat exactly cancels all efficiency advantages, yielding an overall system deficit\n\nmatching the isothermal baseline. Third, we address autonomous control in partially observable Markov deci-\n\nsion processes (POMDPs) by deploying Recurrent Proximal Policy Optimization (Recurrent PPO with LSTM),\n\nenabling the demon to autonomously overcome measurement backaction and discover synchronized conveyor trans-\n\nport policies superior to classical heuristics. Finally, we design and verify Configuration D, a body-heat-powered\n\nthermoelectric energy harvester operating an ESP32-C3 microcontroller demon. By eliminating idle wake-time\n\ndelays and overlapping 9-bit digital sensor conversion with sub-millisecond USB polling, firmware v2 slashes ac-\n\ntive controller consumption in our calibrated design model by a factor of 8.7 (from ≈ 208.5 mJ to ≈ 24.1 mJ),\n\nestablishing a net-positive self-powered operational cycle (+65.8 mJ/cycle). We quantify the fundamental gap of\n\n≈ 8.4 × 1018 (≈ 19 orders of magnitude) between the Landauer erasure limit (2.87 × 10−21 J) and real-world\n\nmicrocontrollers, delineating the rigorous boundary between physical information thermodynamics and real-world\n\nenergy harvesting.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Independent Researcher"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 1,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Kengo Imai"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/a26tq2v09mgrc.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.5281/zenodo.23452403",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "a26tq2v09mgrc",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://zenodo.org/records/23452403",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-18",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/a26tq2v09mgrc.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-01T12:21:07Z",
      "native_id": "23452403",
      "source": "zenodo",
      "url": "https://zenodo.org/records/23452403"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [],
  "title": "Maxwell's Demon, Landauer's Limit, and Quantum Information Heat Engines: From Microscopic Models to a Macroscopic Self-Powered Energy Harvester",
  "title_text": "Maxwell's Demon, Landauer's Limit, and Quantum Information Heat Engines: From Microscopic Models to a Macroscopic Self-Powered Energy Harvester",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-01T12:21:07Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/a26tq2v09mgrc",
  "venue": "Zenodo",
  "versions": []
}