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Nonequilibrium steady-state currents, unlike their equilibrium counterparts, continuously dissipate energy into their physical surroundings leading to entropy production and time-reversal symmetry breaking. This letter discusses these…
We numerically determine the entropy for heat-conducting states, which is connected to the so-called excess heat considered as a basic quantity for steady-state thermodynamics in nonequilibrium. We adopt an efficient method to estimate the…
Certain thermal non-equilibrium situations, outside of the astrophysical realm, suggest that entropy production extrema, instead of entropy extrema, are related to stationary states. In an effort to better understand the evolution of…
An explicit expression for the temperature of an open two-level quantum system is obtained as a function of local properties, under the hypothesis of weak interaction with the environment. This temperature is defined for both equilibrium…
The concept of entropy has been pivotal in the formulation of thermodynamics. For systems driven away from thermal equilibrium, a comparable role is played by entropy production and dissipation. Here we provide a comprehensive picture how…
Some physical processes, including the intensity fluctuations of a chaotic laser, the detection of single photons, and the Brownian motion of a microscopic particle in a fluid are unpredictable, at least on long timescales. This…
The brightness of the emission from coronal loops in the solar atmosphere is strongly dependent on the temperature and density of the confined plasma. After a release of energy, these loops undergo a heating and upflow phase, followed by a…
Using information entropy formalism, we consider a one-dimensional system with heat flux and extend the meaning of equilibrium variables to non equilibrium scenarios when classical local equilibrium approach is not applicable; this is…
This study formulates the ideal efficiency of light-powered systems in the most general form, based on the first principle of energy-entropy flow analysis under the condition of zero entropy generation within the system. A unified formula…
The notion that the whole is more than the sum of its parts has a long tradition in science. This, of course, also applies to the Earth system. With its myriad of processes, spanning from purely physical to life and human activity, the…
A glass is a non-equilibrium thermodynamic state whose physical properties depend on time. Glass formation from the melt, as well as the inverse process of liquid structural recovery from the glass are non-equilibrium processes. A positive…
Experimental work with solar neutrinos has illuminated the properties of neutrinos and tested models of how the sun produces its energy. Three experiments continue to take data, and at least seven are in various stages of planning or…
Solar energy is one of the most promising renewable energy resources. Forecasting photovoltaic power generation is an important way to increase photovoltaic penetration. However, the difficulty in qualifying the uncertainty of PV power…
Entropy production is a fundamental concept that plays a crucial role in the second law of thermodynamics and the measure of irreversibility. It imposes rigorous constraints on the kinds of transformations allowed in thermodynamic…
We study how much the efficiency of a solar cell as a quantum heat engine could be enhanced by quantum coherence. In contrast to the conventional approach that a quantum heat engine is in thermal equilibrium with both hot and cold…
Elementary physics of photovoltaic energy conversion in a two-level atomic PV is considered. We explain the conditions for which the Carnot efficiency is reached and how it can be exceeded! The loss mechanisms - thermalization, angle…
We consider Hamiltonian quantum systems with energy bandwidth \Delta E and show that each measurement that determines the time up to an error \Delta t generates at least the entropy (\hbar/(\Delta t \Delta E))^2/2. Our result describes…
We experimentally demonstrate the decomposition of heat dissipation during free-energy generation in a nanometer-scale dot transitioning to a non-equilibrium steady state via single-electron counting statistics. An alternating-current…
From a new rigorous formulation of the general axiomatic foundations of thermodynamics we derive an operational definition of entropy that responds to the emergent need in many technological frameworks to understand and deploy thermodynamic…
A central problem of space plasma physics is how protons and electrons are heated in a turbulent, magnetized plasma. The differential heating of charged species due to dissipation of turbulent fluctuations plays a key role in solar wind…