Related papers: Non-equilibrium thermodynamics in driven macroscop…
A new theoretical approach to non-equilibrium statistical systems has recently been proposed by the author, a co-author and others. It is based on a variational principle which is associated with the discrepancy of a path through…
Understanding under what conditions it is possible to construct equivalent ensembles is key to advancing our ability to connect microscopic and macroscopic properties of non-equilibrium statistical mechanics. In the case of fluid dynamical…
Entropy is one of the key thermodynamic variables reflecting changes in the state of matter. Unlike other thermodynamic variables, it is well-defined also for nonequilibrium steady states through its relation to information. Applying this…
We examine the question of whether the formal expressions of equilibrium statistical mechanics can be applied to time independent non-dissipative systems that are not in true thermodynamic equilibrium and are nonergodic. By assuming the…
Statistical thermodynamics is valuable as a conceptual structure that shapes our thinking about equilibrium thermodynamic states. A cloud of unresolved questions surrounding the foundations of the theory could lead an impartial observer to…
We review a series of experimental studies of the thermodynamics of nonequilibrium processes at the microscale. In particular, in these experiments we studied the fluctuations of the thermodynamic properties of a single optically-trapped…
We present an application of the theory of stochastic processes to model and categorize non-equilibrium physical phenomena. The concepts of uniformly continuous probability measures and modular evolution lead to a systematic hierarchical…
Active systems evade the rules of equilibrium thermodynamics by constantly dissipating energy at the level of their microscopic components. This energy flux stems from the conversion of a fuel, present in the environment, into sustained…
We discuss the two-dimensional motion of a Brownian particle that is confined to a harmonic trap and driven by a shear flow. The surrounding medium induces memory effects modelled by a linear, typically nonreciprocal coupling of the…
A nonequilibrium statistical operator method is developed for ensembles of particles obeying non-Hamiltonian equations of motion in classical phase space. The main consequences of non-zero compressibility of phase space are examined in…
Biological assemblies such as chromosomes, membranes, and the cytoskeleton are driven out of equilibrium at the nanoscale by enzymatic activity and molecular motors. Similar non-equilibrium dynamics can be realized in synthetic systems,…
Statistical Mechanics deals with ensembles of microstates that are compatible with fixed constraints and that on average define a thermodynamic macrostate. The evolution of a small system is normally subjected to changing constraints and…
A positive rate of entropy production at steady state is a distinctive feature of truly non-equilibrium processes. Exact results, while being often limited to simple models, offer a unique opportunity to explore the thermodynamic features…
We employ a quantum macrostatistical treatment of irreversible processes to prove that, in nonequilibrium steady states, (a) the hydrodynamical observables execute a generalised Onsager-Machlup process and (b) the spatial correlations of…
Living systems operate far from thermodynamic equilibrium. Enzymatic activity can induce broken detailed balance at the molecular scale. This molecular scale breaking of detailed balance is crucial to achieve biological functions such as…
Nonequilibrium statistical mechanics exhibit a variety of complex phenomena far from equilibrium. It inherits challenges of equilibrium, including accurately describing the joint distribution of a large number of configurations, and also…
We develop the stochastic approach to thermodynamics based on the stochastic dynamics, which can be discrete (master equation) continuous (Fokker-Planck equation), and on two assumptions concerning entropy. The first is the definition of…
We provide a general macrostatistical formulation of nonequilibrium steady states of reservoir driven quantum systems. This formulation is centred on the large scale properties of the locally conserved hydrodynamical observables, and our…
A classical particle system coupled with a thermostat driven by an external constant force reaches its steady state when the ensemble-averaged drift velocity does not vary with time. The statistical mechanics of such a system is derived…
What is really measured in dynamic calorimetric experiments is still an open question. This paper is devoted to this question, which can be usefully envisaged by means of macroscopic non-equilibrium thermodynamics. From the pioneer work of…