Abstract
The thermodynamic uncertainty relation (TUR) is expected to hold in nanoscale electronic conductors, when the electron transport process is quantum coherent and the transmission probability is constant (energy and voltage independent). We present measurements of the electron current and its noise in gold atomic-scale junctions and confirm the validity of the TUR for electron transport in realistic quantum coherent conductors. Furthermore, we show that it is beneficial to present the current and its noise as a TUR ratio in order to identify deviations from noninteracting-electron coherent dynamics.
Highlights
The thermodynamic uncertainty relation (TUR), a costprecision trade-off relationship, has been of great interest recently in classical statistical physics
We argue that the TUR ratio can distill underlying transport mechanisms in atomic-scale junctions, which may be convoluted at the level of the current and its noise
Cost-precision entropy-fluctuation trade-off relationships are fundamental to understanding nonequilibrium processes
Summary
The thermodynamic uncertainty relation (TUR), a costprecision trade-off relationship, has been of great interest recently in classical statistical physics. A TUR bound for quantum systems in a nonequilibrium steady state was obtained in Ref. Precise process with little noise is realized with high thermodynamic (entropic) cost Systems that obey this inequality satisfy the TUR. The objective of this paper is to study the TUR in chargeconducting atomic-scale junctions and use this compound measure to learn about charge-transport mechanisms in real systems. We argue that the TUR ratio can distill underlying transport mechanisms in atomic-scale junctions, which may be convoluted at the level of the current and its noise. This study bridges a gap between quantum transport junctions [25] and stochastic thermodynamics [30,31], illustrating that thermodynamical bounds can be tested in nanoscale systems, in the quantum domain, down to the level of atomic-scale electronic conductors
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