Related papers: Efficiency and Large Deviations in Time-Asymmetric…
We experimentally demonstrate that highly structured distributions of work emerge during even the simple task of erasing a single bit. These are signatures of a refined suite of time-reversal symmetries in distinct functional classes of…
A long standing open problem whether a heat engine with finite power achieves the Carnot efficiency is investigated. We rigorously prove a general trade-off inequality on thermodynamic efficiency and time interval of a cyclic process with…
Small nonequelibrium systems driven by an external periodic protocol can be described by Markov processes with time-periodic transition rates. In general, current fluctuations in such small systems are large and may play a crucial role. We…
Optimization of cyclic stochastic heat engines, a topic spanning decades of research, commonly assumes fixed control or response parameters at discrete points in the cycle-a limitation that often leads to experimentally impractical…
We revisit the optimization of performance of finite-time Carnot machines satisfying the low-dissipation assumption. The standard procedure seeks to optimize an objective function, such as power output of the engine, over the durations of…
We study a class of cyclic Brownian heat engines in the framework of finite-time thermodynamics. For infinitely long cycle times, the engine works at the Carnot efficiency limit producing, however, zero power. For the efficiency at maximum…
We describe some general results that constrain the dynamical fluctuations that can occur in non-equilibrium steady states, with a focus on molecular dynamics. That is, we consider Hamiltonian systems, coupled to external heat baths, and…
The Carnot engine sets an upper limit to the efficiency of a practical heat engine. An arbitrary irreversible engine is sometimes believed to behave closely as the Curzon-Ahlborn engine. Efficiency of the latter is obtained commonly by…
Small nonequilibrium systems in contact with a heat bath can be analyzed with the framework of stochastic thermodynamics. In such systems, fluctuations, which are not negligible, follow universal relations such as the fluctuation theorem.…
For periodically driven systems, we derive a family of inequalities that relate entropy production with experimentally accessible data for the mean, its dependence on driving frequency, and the variance of a large class of observables. With…
We study a molecular engine constituted by a gas of $N \sim 10^2$ molecules enclosed between a massive piston and a thermostat. The force acting on the piston and the temperature of the thermostat are cyclically changed with a finite period…
We provide a strategy for an exact inference of the average as well as the fluctuations of the entropy production in non-equilibrium systems in the steady state, from the measurements of arbitrary current fluctuations. Our results are built…
We investigate the efficiency at maximum power of an irreversible Carnot engine performing finite-time cycles between two reservoirs at temperatures $T_h$ and $T_c$ $(T_c<T_h)$, taking into account of internally dissipative friction in two…
We consider heat fluctuations and fluctuation theorems for systems driven by multiple reservoirs. We establish a fundamental symmetry obeyed by the joint probability distribution for the heat transfers and system coordinates. The symmetry…
Under a general framework, shortcuts to adiabatic processes are shown to be possible in classical systems. We then study the distribution function of the work done on a small system initially prepared at thermal equilibrium. It is found…
The efficiency at maximum power output of linear irreversible Carnot-like heat engines is investigated based on the assumption that the rate of irreversible entropy production of working substance in each "isothermal" process is a quadratic…
Molecular motors are known to have the high efficiency of energy transformation in the presence of thermal fluctuation. Motivated by the surprising fact, recent studies of thermal ratchet models are showing how and when work should be…
Microscopic heat engines operate in regimes where thermodynamic quantities fluctuate strongly, making stochastic effects an essential aspect of their performance. However, existing geometric formulations of finite-time thermodynamics…
A simple tight-coupling model of a molecular chemical engine is proposed. The efficiency of the chemical engine and its average velocity can be explicitly calculated. The diffusion constant is evaluated approximately using the fluctuation…
Physical systems driven away from equilibrium by an external controller dissipate heat to the environment; the excess entropy production in the thermal reservoir can be interpreted as a "cost" to transform the system in a finite time. The…