Related papers: Illustrating delta(E)=c^2 delta(m)
We consider the sticky collision between two sphere of equal rest mass, moving with equal but opposite speeds in a horizontal plane. The collision takes place on the pan of a high sensitivity balance. The conditions of mechanical and…
We study the internal dynamics of an elementary quantum system placed close to a body held at a temperature different from that of the surrounding radiation. We derive general expressions for lifetime and density matrix valid for bodies of…
We show how statistical thermodynamics can be formulated in situations in which thermodynamics applies, while equilibrium statistical mechanics does not. A typical case is, in the words of Landau and Lifshitz, that of partial (or…
We study first-order phase transitions in a two-temperature system, where due to the time-scale separation all the basic thermodynamical quantities (free energy, entropy, etc) are well-defined. The sign of the latent heat is found to be…
The present work extends the well-known thermodynamic relation $C=\beta ^{2}< \delta {E^{2}}>$ for the canonical ensemble. We start from the general situation of the thermodynamic equilibrium between a large but finite system of interest…
We discuss how the thermalization of an elementary quantum system is modified when the system is placed in an environment out of thermal equilibrium. To this aim we provide a detailed investigation of the dynamics of an atomic system placed…
Ergodic many-body systems are expected to reach quasi-thermal equilibrium. Here we demonstrate that, surprisingly, high-energy electrons, which are injected into a quantum Hall edge mode with finite range interactions, stabilize at a…
We investigate a solvable model for energy conserving non-equilibrium steady states. The time-reversal asymmetry of the dynamics leads to the violation of detailed balance and to ergodicity breaking, as manifested by the presence of…
In self-gravitating stars, two dimensional or geophysical flows and in plasmas, long range interactions imply a lack of additivity for the energy; as a consequence, the usual thermodynamic limit is not appropriate. However, by contrast with…
In systems with detailed balance, the stationary distribution and the equilibrium distribution are identical, creating a clear connection between energetic and entropic quantities. Many driven systems violate detailed balance and still pose…
Non-equilibrium thermodynamics can provide strong advantages when compared to more standard equilibrium situations. Here, we present a general framework to study its application to concrete problems, which is valid also beyond the…
We consider two statistically independent systems described by the same entropy belonging to the two-parameter family of Sharma-Mittal. Assuming a weak interaction among the systems, allowing in this way an exchange of heat and work, we…
Thermodynamical equilibrium is considered as an effect of quantum entangling of the vacuum state of a system. An explicit mathematical model of multi- particle entangled pure quantum states is developed and analyzed. In the framework, the…
We consider an isolated, macroscopic quantum system. Let H be a micro-canonical "energy shell," i.e., a subspace of the system's Hilbert space spanned by the (finitely) many energy eigenstates with energies between E and E + delta E. The…
Thermalization is the dynamical process by which a many-body system evolves toward a thermal equilibrium state that maximizes its entropy. In certain cases, however, the establishment of thermal equilibrium is significantly slowed down and…
The meaning of temperature in nonequilibrium thermodynamics is considered by using a forced harmonic oscillator in a heat bath, where we have two effective temperatures for the position and the momentum, respectively. We invent a concrete…
We study the steady state of a three-level system in contact with a non-equilibrium environment, which is composed of two independent heat baths at different temperatures. We derive a master equation to describe the non-equilibrium process…
The question of how systems respond to perturbations is ubiquitous in physics. Predicting this response for large classes of systems becomes particularly challenging if many degrees of freedom are involved and linear response theory cannot…
Many advanced quantum techniques feature non-Gaussian dynamics, and the ability to manipulate the system in that domain is the next-stage in many experiments. One example of meaningful non-Gaussian dynamics is that of a double-well…
A system of two coupled oscillators, each of them coupled to an independent reservoir, is analysed. The analytical solution of the non-rotating wave master equation is obtained in the high-temperature and weak coupling limits. No thermal…