Related papers: Constraints on Onsager coefficients from quasi-sta…
We study the optimal exergy efficiency and power for thermodynamic systems with Onsager-type "current-force" relationship describing the linear-response to external influences. We derive, in simple analytic forms, the maximum efficiency and…
Onsager's phenomenological equations successfully describe irreversible thermodynamic processes. They assume a symmetric coupling matrix between thermodynamic fluxes and forces. It is easily shown that the antisymmetric part of a coupling…
In the linear regime, Onsager's response matrix provides the coupling between heat and charge currents crossing a section of thermoelectric materials of infinitesimal thickness. Integrating this response over the finite thickness of a…
Symmetry relations are manifestations of fundamental principles and constitute cornerstones of modern physics. An example are the Onsager relations between coefficients connecting thermodynamic fluxes and forces, central to transport theory…
We develop an exact quantum thermodynamic description for a noninteracting nanoscale steady state that couples strongly with multiple reservoirs. It is demonstrated that there exists a steady-state extension of the thermodynamic function…
A process, carried out in a stepwise manner, becomes quasi-static when the number of intermediate steps tends to infinity. Usually, the net entropy production approaches zero under this limiting condition. Hence, such cases are termed…
The concepts of weighted reciprocal of temperature and weighted thermal flux are proposed for a heat engine operating between two heat baths and outputting mechanical work. With the aid of these two concepts, the generalized thermodynamic…
We consider two specific thermodynamic cycles of engine operating in a finite time coupled to two thermal reservoirs with a finite heat capacity: The Carnot-type cycle and the Lorenz-type cycle. By means of the endo-reversible…
The first Kelvin relation that states the Peltier coefficient should be equal to the product of temperature and Seebeck coefficient is a fundamental principle in thermoelectricity. It has been regarded as an important application and direct…
In this work we study the properties of a relativistic mixture of two non-reacting dilute species in thermal local equilibrium. Following the conventional ideas in kinetic theory, we use the concept of chaotic velocity. In particular, we…
Quantum thermodynamics supplies a consistent description of quantum heat engines and refrigerators up to the level of a single few level system coupled to the environment. Once the environment is split into three;a hot, cold and work…
We introduce a general framework for analyzing the thermodynamics of small systems that are driven by both a periodic temperature variation and some external parameter modulating their energy. This set-up covers, in particular, periodic…
We investigate a kinetic heat engine model constituted by particles enclosed in a box where one side acts as a thermostat and the opposite side is a piston exerting a given pressure. Pressure and temperature are varied in a cyclical…
We study the modification of the second law of thermodynamics for a quantum system interacting with a reservoir regarding quantum coherence. The whole system is isolated so that neither energy nor information is lost. It is discovered that…
In this paper, we introduce a real symmetric and positive semi-definite matrix, which we call the non-equilibrium conductance matrix, and which generalizes the Onsager response matrix for a system in a non-equilibrium stationary state. We…
The construction of efficient thermal engines operating at finite times constitutes a fundamental and timely topic in nonequilibrium thermodynamics. We introduce a strategy for optimizing the performance of Brownian engines, based on a…
The thermodynamic properties of quantum heat engines are stochastic owing to the presence of thermal and quantum fluctuations. We here experimentally investigate the efficiency and nonequilibrium entropy production statistics of a spin-1/2…
Thermoelectric transport involving an arbitrary number of terminals is discussed in the presence of a magnetic field breaking time-reversal symmetry within the linear response regime using the Landauer-B\"uttiker formalism. We derive a…
Onsager's 1931 `reciprocity relations' result connects microscopic time-reversibility with a symmetry property of corresponding macroscopic evolution equations. Among the many consequences is a variational characterization of the…
The Carnot theorem, one expression of the second law of thermodynamics, places a fundamental upper bound on the efficiency of heat engines operating between two heat baths. The Carnot theorem can be stated in a more generalized form for…