11 research outputs found
Asymptotics of work distributions: The pre-exponential factor
We determine the complete asymptotic behaviour of the work distribution in
driven stochastic systems described by Langevin equations. Special emphasis is
put on the calculation of the pre-exponential factor which makes the result
free of adjustable parameters. The method is applied to various examples and
excellent agreement with numerical simulations is demonstrated. For the special
case of parabolic potentials with time-dependent frequencies, we derive a
universal functional form for the asymptotic work distribution.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figure
Work distribution for the driven harmonic oscillator with time-dependent strength: Exact solution and slow driving
We study the work distribution of a single particle moving in a harmonic
oscillator with time-dependent strength. This simple system has a non-Gaussian
work distribution with exponential tails. The time evolution of the
corresponding moment generating function is given by two coupled ordinary
differential equations that are solved numerically. Based on this result we
study the behavior of the work distribution in the limit of slow but finite
driving and show that it approaches a Gaussian distribution arbitrarily well