Classical and Thermodynamic work fluctuations

We have studied the nature of classical work ($W_{c}$) and thermodynamic work ($W$) fluctuations in systems driven out of equilibrium both in transient and time periodic steady state. As the observation time of trajectory increases, we show that the number of trajectories which exhibit excursions away from the typical behaviour i.e., $W_{c}<0$, $W<\Delta F$ and dissipated heat $Q<0$ decreases as anticipated for macroscopic time scales. Analytical expressions for such trajectories are obtained. Trajectory for which $W_{c}<0$ may not correspond to $W<\Delta F$ or $Q<0$. The applicability of steady state fluctuation theorems are discussed in our linear as well as nonlinear models.Comment: Based on the talk presented by Mamata Sahoo at the Condensed Matter Days-Aug. 2008 held at Viswavarati University, Kolkata. 19 pages, 8 figure