Related papers: Jensen Inequality and the Second Law
We validate experimentally a fluctuation relation known as generalized Jarzynski equality (GJE) governing the work distribution in a feedback-controlled system. The feedback control is performed on a single electron box analogously to the…
There are several formulations of the second law, and they may, in principle, have different domains of validity. Here a simple mathematical theorem is proven which serves as the most general basis for the second law, namely the Thomson…
Microcanonical Thermodynamics allows the application of Statistical Mechanics on one hand to closed finite and even small systems and on the other to the largest,self-gravitating ones. However, one has to reconsider the fundamental…
Kelvin's relations may be considered as cornerstones in the theory of thermoelectricity. Indeed, they gather together the three thermoelectric effects, associated respectively with Seebeck, Peltier and Thomson, to get a unique and…
We study diffusive mixing in the presence of thermal fluctuations under the assumption of large Schmidt number. In this regime we obtain a limiting equation that contains a diffusive thermal drift term with diffusion coefficient obeying a…
The limits of the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which reigns undisputed in the macroscopic world, are investigated at the mesoscopic level, corresponding to spatial dimensions of a few microns. An extremely simple isolated system, modeled…
A scheme for treating the Second Law of thermodynamics as a constraint and accounting for the approximate nature of constitutive assumptions in continuum thermomechanics is discussed. An unconstrained, concave, variational principle is…
The Fluctuation Theorem (FT) is a generalisation of the Second Law of Thermodynamics that applies to small systems observed for short times. For thermostatted systems it gives the probability ratio that entropy will be consumed rather than…
We compare two approaches to nonequilibrium thermodynamics, the two-generator bracket formulation of time-evolution equations for averages and the macroscopic fluctuation theory, for an isothermal driven diffusive system under steady state…
We define common thermodynamic concepts purely within the framework of general Markov chains and derive Jarzynski's equality and Crooks' fluctuation theorem in this setup. In particular, we regard the discrete time case that leads to an…
We prove a generalization of the classic Groenewold-Lindblad entropy inequality, combining decoherence and the quantum Bayes theorem into a simple unified picture where decoherence increases entropy while observation decreases it. This…
We extend the stochastic energetics to a relativistic system. The thermodynamic laws and equipartition theorem are discussed for a relativistic Brownian particle and the first and the second law of thermodynamics in this formalism are…
The validity of the Second Law of thermodynamics, indisputable in the macroscopic world, is challenged at the mesoscopic level: a mesoscopic isolated system, possessing spatial dimensions of the order of a few microns, is capable, as shown…
An open question of fundamental importance in thermodynamics is how to describe the fluctuations of work for quantum coherent processes. In the standard approach, based on a projective energy measurement both at the beginning and at the end…
In 1965 Jaynes provided an intuitively simple proof of the 2nd law of thermodynamics as a general requirement for any macroscopic transition to be experimentally reproducible. His proof was based on Boltzmann's formula S = klnW and the…
Fluctuation theorems are a generalization of thermodynamics on small scales and provide the tools to characterize the fluctuations of thermodynamic quantities in non-equilibrium nanoscale systems. They are particularly important for…
The energy of a finite system thermally connected to a thermal reservoir may fluctuate, while the temperature is a constant representing a thermodynamic property of the reservoir. The finite system can also be used as a thermometer for the…
The Fluctuation Theorem gives an analytical expression for the probability of observing second law violating dynamical fluctuations, in nonequilibrium systems. At equilibrium statistical mechanical fluctuations are known to be ensemble…
Twentyseven comments (.) on the Second Law and nonequilibrium systems
Microcanonical thermodynamics allows the application of statistical mechanics both to finite and even small systems and also to the largest, self-gravitating ones. However, one must reconsider the fundamental principles of statistical…