1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910300397803321

Autore

Holubec Viktor

Titolo

Non-equilibrium Energy Transformation Processes : Theoretical Description at the Level of Molecular Structures / / by Viktor Holubec

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cham : , : Springer International Publishing : , : Imprint : Springer, , 2014

ISBN

3-319-07091-6

Edizione

[1st ed. 2014.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (161 p.)

Collana

Springer Theses, Recognizing Outstanding Ph.D. Research, , 2190-5053

Disciplina

536.7

Soggetti

Thermodynamics

Statistical physics

Dynamics

Atoms

Physics

Complex Systems

Atomic, Molecular, Optical and Plasma Physics

Statistical Physics and Dynamical Systems

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references at the end of each chapters.

Nota di contenuto

Introduction -- Discrete State Space Models -- Continuous State Space Models -- Heat Engines -- Conclusion.

Sommario/riassunto

Various experimental techniques have been advanced in recent years to measure non-equilibrium energy transformations on the microscopic scale of single molecules. In general, the systems studied in the corresponding experiments are exposed to strong thermal fluctuations and thus the relevant energetic variables such as work and heat become stochastic. This thesis addresses challenging theoretical problems in this active field of current research: 1) Exact analytical solutions of work and heat distributions for isothermal non-equilibrium processes in suitable models are obtained; 2) Corresponding solutions for cyclic processes involving two different heat reservoirs are found; 3) Optimization of periodic driving protocols for such cyclic processes with respect to maximal output power, efficiency, and minimal power



fluctuations is studied. The exact solutions for work and heat distributions provide a reference for theoretical investigations of more complicated models, giving insight into the structure of the tail of work distributions and serving as valuable test cases for simulations of the underlying stochastic processes.