  The reversible computation paradigm aims to provide a new foundation for
general classical digital computing that is capable of circumventing the
thermodynamic limits to the energy efficiency of the conventional,
non-reversible digital paradigm. However, to date, the essential rationale for
and analysis of classical reversible computing (RC) has not yet been expressed
in terms that leverage the modern formal methods of non-equilibrium quantum
thermodynamics (NEQT). In this paper, we begin developing an NEQT-based
foundation for the physics of reversible computing. We use the framework of
Gorini-Kossakowski-Sudarshan-Lindblad dynamics (a.k.a. Lindbladians) with
multiple asymptotic states, incorporating recent results from resource theory,
full counting statistics, and stochastic thermodynamics. Important conclusions
include that, as expected: (1) Landauer's Principle indeed sets a strict lower
bound on entropy generation in traditional non-reversible architectures for
deterministic computing machines when we account for the loss of correlations;
and (2) implementations of the alternative reversible computation paradigm can
potentially avoid such losses, and thereby circumvent the Landauer limit,
potentially allowing the efficiency of future digital computing technologies to
continue improving indefinitely. We also outline a research plan for
identifying the fundamental minimum energy dissipation of reversible computing
machines as a function of speed.
