Related papers: Nonequilibrium Work Fluctuations in Force-induced …
A main goal of single-molecule experiments is to evaluate equilibrium free energy differences by applying fluctuation relations to repeated work measurements along irreversible processes. We quantify the error that is made in a free energy…
When pulled along the axis, double-strand DNA undergoes a large conformational change and elongates roughly twice its initial contour length at a pulling force about 70 pN. The transition to this highly overstretched form of DNA is very…
We study by using Monte Carlo simulations the hysteresis in unzipping and rezipping of a double stranded DNA (dsDNA) by pulling its strands in opposite directions in the fixed force ensemble. The force is increased, at a constant rate from…
Jarzynski's equality [1] allows us to investigate free energy landscapes (FELs) by constructing distributions of work performed on a system from an initial ensemble of states to final states. This work is experimentally measured by…
A result of great theoretical and experimental interest, Jarzynski equality predicts a free energy change $\Delta F$ of a system at inverse temperature $\beta$ from an ensemble average of non-equilibrium exponential work, i.e., $\langle…
A promising method for calculating free energy differences Delta F is to generate non-equilibrium data via ``fast-growth'' simulations or experiments -- and then use Jarzynski's equality. However, a difficulty with using Jarzynski's…
Brownian dynamics simulations are used to study the detachment of a particle from a substrate. Although the model is simple and generic, we attempt to map its energy, length and time scales onto a specific experimental system, namely a bead…
We use Newtonian and overdamped Langevin dynamics to study long flexible polymers dragged by an external force at a constant velocity $v$. The work $W$ by that force depends on the initial state of the polymer and the details of the…
We report studies of the equilibrium and the dynamics of a general set of lattice models which capture the essence of the force-induced or mechanical DNA unzipping transition. Besides yielding the whole equilibrium phase diagram in the…
We show how single-molecule unzipping experiments can provide strong evidence that the zero-force melting transition of long molecules of natural dsDNA should be classified as a phase transition of the higher-order type (continuous). We…
The well-known Jarzynski equality, often written in the form $e^{-\beta\Delta F}=\langle e^{-\beta W}\rangle$, provides a non-equilibrium means to measure the free energy difference $\Delta F$ of a system at the same inverse temperature…
Understanding and manipulating work fluctuations in microscale and nanoscale systems are of both fundamental and practical interest. For example, in considering the Jarzynski equality $\langle e^{-\beta W} \rangle=e^{-\beta \Delta F}$, a…
It has recently been shown that in some DNA microarrays the time needed to reach thermal equilibrium may largely exceed the typical experimental time, which is about 15h in standard protocols (Hooyberghs et al. Phys. Rev. E 81, 012901…
We investigate the non-equilibrium mechanical motion of double-stranded DNA in a molecular junction under electronic current using Keldysh-Langevin molecular dynamics. Non-equilibrium electronic force reshapes the effective potential energy…
In this short communication, I give a very simple derivation of the Jarzynski equality, which allows to compute the free energy difference of a body, which is driven between two equilibrium states $A$ and $B$ by an external (time-dependent)…
We consider in this paper, a few important issues in non-equilibrium work fluctuations and their relations to equilibrium free energies. First we show that Jarzynski identity can be viewed as a cumulant expansion of work. For a switching…
We present a generalization of Jarzynski's Equality, applicable to quantum systems, relating discretized mechanical work and free-energy changes. The theory is based on a step-wise pulling protocol. We find that work distribution functions…
The work fluctuations of an oscillator in contact with a heat reservoir and driven out of equilibrium by an external force are studied experimentally. The oscillator dynamics is modeled by a Langevin equation. We find both experimentally…
We study numerically the behavior of RNA secondary structures under influence of a varying external force. This allows to measure the work $W$ during the resulting fast unfolding and refolding processes. Here, we investigate a medium-size…
We demonstrate experimentally that, applying optimal protocols which drive the system between two equilibrium states characterized by a free energy difference $\Delta F$, we can maximize the probability of performing the transition between…