Related papers: Critique of some thermodynamic proofs based on the…
We present a universal thermodynamic framework for quantum systems that may be strongly coupled to thermal environments. Unlike previous approaches, our method enables a clear definition of thermostatic properties while preserving the same…
The existing polar continuum theory contains unresolved indeterminacies in the spherical part of the couple-stress tensor. This severely restricts its applicability in the study of micro and nano-scale solid and fluid mechanics and, perhaps…
In this paper, the foundations of classical phenomenological thermodynamics are being thoroughly revisited. A new rigorous basis for thermodynamics is laid out in the main text and presented in full detail in the appendix. All relevant…
Using the contemporary thermodynamic equations of elastic solids leads to contradictions with the fundamental statements of thermodynamics. Two examples are presented to expose the inconsistencies. In example one the internal energy between…
In this note, we analyze the relationships that should govern the use of thermodynamics in fluid mechanics in a way that we believe is understandable to mathematicians. We also aim to better define the reasons why mechanics and…
Entropy is the distinguishing and most important concept of our efforts to understand and regularize our observations of a very large class of natural phenomena, and yet, it is one of the most contentious concepts of physics. In this…
We study the efficiency at maximum power of two coupled heat engines, using thermoelectric generators (TEGs) as engines. Assuming that the heat and electric charge fluxes in the TEGs are strongly coupled, we simulate numerically the…
Fluctuation Theorems are central in stochastic thermodynamics, as they allow for quantifying the irreversibility of single trajectories. Although they have been experimentally checked in the classical regime, a practical demonstration in…
After presenting possible motives for fighting against the second law of thermodynamics, several attempts to beat this law are analyzed. The second law wins, but an interesting interpretation of it emerges. This interpretation uses the…
We investigate heat engines whose working substance is made of two coupled qubits performing a generalised Otto cycle by varying their applied magnetic field or their interaction strength during the compression and expansion strokes. During…
The possibility of stating the second law of thermodynamics in terms of the increasing behaviour of a physical property establishes a connection between that branch of physics and the theory of algebraic inequalities. We use this connection…
Lord Kelvin's postulate is a standard form of statement of the second law of thermodynamics. Caratheodory's principle is also considered as a different form of this law. Landsberg deduced Caratheodory's principle from Kelvin's postulate and…
The second law of thermodynamics is a statement about the statistics of the entropy production, $\langle \Sigma \rangle \geq 0$. For small systems, it is known that the entropy production is a random variable and negative values ($\Sigma <…
Thermodynamics is the phenomenological theory of heat and work. Here we analyze to what extent quantum thermodynamic relations are immune to the underlying mathematical formulation of quantum mechanics. As a main result, we show that the…
In one of its versions, the Second Law states: "It is impossible to construct an engine which will work in a complete cycle, and produces no effect except the raising of a weight and cooling of a heat reservoir." While the Second Law is…
Local master equations are a widespread tool to model open quantum systems, especially in the context of many-body systems. These equations, however, are believed to lead to thermodynamic anomalies and violation of the laws of…
Even though quantum pumping is a very promising field, it has unfortunately not been unambiguously experimentally detected. The reason being that in the experiments the rectification effect overshadows the pumped current. One of the better…
Many fruitful analogies have emerged between the theories of quantum entanglement and thermodynamics, motivating the pursuit of an axiomatic description of entanglement akin to the laws of thermodynamics. A long-standing open problem has…
Some works have appeared in recent accredited literature considering the possibility of macroscopic violations of the second law in simulated as well as really executed experiments. We argue the inexistence of such violations in experiments…
The 2nd law of thermodynamics yields an irreversible increase in entropy until thermal equilibrium is achieved. This irreversible increase is often assumed to require large and complex systems to emerge from the reversible microscopic laws…