Related papers: Thermodynamic optimization equalities in weakly dr…
A pair of systems at different temperatures is a classic environment for a heat engine, which produces work during the relaxation to a common equilibrium. It is generally believed that a direct interaction between the two systems will…
In this study, we advance the understanding of non-equilibrium systems by deriving thermodynamic relations for a heat engine operating under an exponentially decreasing temperature profile. Such thermal configurations closely mimic…
A fluctuation theorem relating the work to its optimal average work is presented. The function mediating the relation is increasing and convex, and depends on the switching time $\tau$, driving strength $\delta\lambda/\lambda_0$, and…
The fluctuation-dissipation relation for the classical definition of work is extended to thermally isolated systems, in classical and quantum realms. From this, the optimal work variance is calculated, showing it achieves its minimum…
Active matter generates order or patterns through nonequilibrium dynamics. An open research challenge is to determine how efficiently a nonequilibrium self-organising system can convert consumed energy into macroscopic order. We study an…
If the work per cycle of a quantum heat engine is averaged over an appropriate prior distribution for an external parameter $a$, the work becomes optimal at Curzon-Ahlborn efficiency. More general priors of the form $\Pi(a) \propto…
Fluctuations of thermodynamic quantities become non-negligible and play an important role when the system size is small. We develop finite-time thermodynamics of fluctuations in microscopic heat engines whose environmental temperature and…
We study internal work optimization over the energy levels of a generic hot quantum Otto engine. We find universal features in the efficiency that resembles the classical external power optimization over the coupling times to the thermal…
The asymptotic behaviour of the work probability distribution in driven non-equilibrium systems is determined using the method of optimal fluctuations. For systems described by Langevin dynamics the corresponding Euler-Lagrange equation…
Algorithmic entropy can be seen as a special case of entropy as studied in statistical mechanics. This viewpoint allows us to apply many techniques developed for use in thermodynamics to the subject of algorithmic information theory. In…
A simplified climate model based on maximum entropy production, described by a variational principle, is revisited and an analytical solution to its Euler-Lagrange equation is found. Mindful of controversy about maximum or minimum entropy…
Optimal (reversible) processes in thermodynamics can be modelled as step-by-step processes, where the system is successively thermalized with respect to different Hamiltonians by an external thermal bath. However, in practice interactions…
According to Thermodynamics, the efficiency of a heat engine is upper bounded by Carnot efficiency. For macroscopic systems, the Carnot efficiency is, however, achieved only for quasi static processes. And, considerable attention has been…
According to the second law of thermodynamics, for every transformation performed on a system which is in contact with an environment of fixed temperature, the extracted work is bounded by the decrease of the free energy of the system.…
Thermodynamics entails a set of mathematical conditions on quantum Markovian dynamics. In particular, strict energy conservation between the system and environment implies that the dissipative dynamical map commutes with the unitary system…
We present an in-depth analysis of the sometimes understated role of the principle of energy conservation in linear irreversible thermodynamics. Our case study is that of a thermoelectric generator (TEG), which is a heat engine of choice in…
Active matter constantly dissipates energy to power the self-propulsion of its microscopic constituents. This opens the door to designing innovative cyclic engines without any equilibrium equivalent. We offer a consistent thermodynamic…
We present a rigorous approach, based on the concept of continuous thermomajorisation, to algorithmically characterise the full set of energy occupations of a quantum system accessible from a given initial state through weak interactions…
We prove that given a computable metric space and two computable measures, the set of points that have high universal uniform test scores with respect to the first measure will have a lower bound with respect to the second measure. This…
Asking for the optimal protocol of an external control parameter that minimizes the mean work required to drive a nano-scale system from one equilibrium state to another in finite time, Schmiedl and Seifert ({\it Phys. Rev. Lett.} {\bf 98},…