755 research outputs found
Inattainability of Carnot efficiency in the Brownian heat engine
We discuss the reversibility of Brownian heat engine. We perform asymptotic
analysis of Kramers equation on B\"uttiker-Landauer system and show
quantitatively that Carnot efficiency is inattainable even in a fully
overdamping limit. The inattainability is attributed to the inevitable
irreversible heat flow over the temperature boundary.Comment: 5 pages, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Microscopic heat from the energetics of stochastic phenomena
The energetics of the stochastic process has shown the balance of energy on
the mesoscopic level. The heat and the energy defined there are, however,
generally different from their macroscopic counterpart. We show that this
discrepancy can be removed by adding to these quantities the reversible heat
associated with the mesoscopic free energy.Comment: 4 pages, 0 figur
Thermodynamics of a Colloidal Particle in a Time-Dependent Non-Harmonic Potential
We study the motion of an overdamped colloidal particle in a time-dependent
non-harmonic potential. We demonstrate the first law-like balance between
applied work, exchanged heat, and internal energy on the level of a single
trajectory. The observed distribution of applied work is distinctly
non-Gaussian in good agreement with numerical calculations. Both the Jarzynski
relation and a detailed fluctuation theorem are verified with good accuracy
Molecular Chemical Engines: Pseudo-Static Processes and the Mechanism of Energy Transduction
We propose a simple theoretical model for a molecular chemical engine that
catalyzes a chemical reaction and converts the free energy released by the
reaction into mechanical work. Binding and unbinding processes of reactant and
product molecules to and from the engine are explicitly taken into account. The
work delivered by the engine is calculated analytically for infinitely slow
(``pseudo-static'') processes, which can be reversible (quasi-static) or
irreversible, controlled by an external agent. It is shown that the work larger
than the maximum value limited by the second law of thermodynamics can be
obtained in a single cycle of operation by chance, although the statistical
average of the work never exceeds this limit and the maximum work is delivered
if the process is reversible. The mechanism of the energy transductionis also
discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figues, submitted to J. Phys. Soc. Jp
Bridging the microscopic and the hydrodynamic in active filament solutions
Hydrodynamic equations for an isotropic solution of active polar filaments
are derived from a microscopic mean-field model of the forces exchanged between
motors and filaments. We find that a spatial dependence of the motor stepping
rate along the filament is essential to drive bundle formation. A number of
differences arise as compared to hydrodynamics derived (earlier) from a
mesoscopic model where relative filament velocities were obtained on the basis
of symmetry considerations. Due to the anisotropy of filament diffusion, motors
are capable of generating net filament motion relative to the solvent. The
effect of this new term on the stability of the homogeneous state is
investigated.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Europhys. Let
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