Mean Entropy Production Rate Research Articles

Improving the Cramér-Rao bound with the detailed fluctuation theorem.

In some nonequilibrium systems, the distribution of entropy production p(Σ) satisfies the detailed fluctuation theorem (DFT) p(Σ)/p(-Σ)=exp(Σ). When the distribution p(Σ) shows a time dependence, the celebrated Cramér-Rao (CR) bound asserts that the mean entropy production rate is upper bounded in terms of the variance of Σ and the Fisher information with respect to time. In this paper we employ the DFT to derive an upper bound for the mean entropy production rate that improves the CR bound. We show that this new bound serves as an accurate approximation for the entropy production rate in the heat exchange problem mediated by a weakly coupled bosonic mode. The bound is saturated for the same setup when mediated by a weakly coupled qubit.

Optimal linear cyclic quantum heat engines cannot benefit from strong coupling.

Uncovering whether strong system-bath coupling can be an advantageous operation resource for energy conversion can facilitate the development of efficient quantum heat engines (QHEs). Yet, a consensus on this ongoing debate is still lacking owing to challenges arising from treating strong couplings. Here, we conclude the debate for optimal linear cyclic QHEs operated under a small temperature difference by revealing the detrimental role of strong system-bath coupling in their optimal operations. We analytically demonstrate that both the efficiency at maximum power and maximum efficiency of strong-coupling linear cyclic QHEs are upper bounded by their weak-coupling counterparts with the same degree of time-reversal symmetry breaking. Under strong time-reversal symmetry breaking, we further reveal a quadratic suppression of the optimal efficiencies relative to the Carnot limit when away from the weak-coupling regime, along with a quadratic enhancement of the mean entropy production rate.

Estimating entropy production rates with first-passage processes

We consider the problem of estimating the mean entropy production rate in a nonequilibrium process from the measurements of first-passage quantities associated with a single current. For first-passage processes with large thresholds, references (Roldán et al 2015 Phys. Rev. Lett. 115 250602; Neri 2022 SciPost Phys. 12 139) identified a ratio of first-passage observables—involving the mean first-passage time, the splitting probability, and the first-passage thresholds—that lower bounds the entropy production rate and is an unbiased estimator of the entropy production rate when applied to a current that is proportional to the stochastic entropy production. Here, we show that also at finite thresholds, a finite number of realisations of the nonequilibrium process, and for currents that are not proportional to the stochastic entropy production, first-passage ratios can accurately estimate the rate of dissipation. In particular, first-passage ratios capture a finite fraction of the total entropy production rate in regimes far from thermal equilibrium where thermodynamic uncertainty ratios capture a negligible fraction of the total entropy production rate. Moreover, we show that first-passage ratios incorporate nonMarkovian statistics in the estimated value of the dissipation rate, which is difficult to include in estimates based on Kullback–Leibler divergences. Taken together, we show that entropy production estimation with first-passage ratios complements well estimation methods based on thermodynamic uncertainty ratios and Kullback–Leibler divergences.

Universal tradeoff relation between speed, uncertainty, and dissipation in nonequilibrium stationary states

We derive universal thermodynamic inequalities that bound from below the moments of first-passage times of stochastic currents in nonequilibrium stationary states of Markov jump processes in the limit where the two thresholds that define the first-passage problem are large. These inequalities describe a tradeoff between speed, uncertainty, and dissipation in nonequilibrium processes, which are quantified, respectively, with the moments of the first-passage times of stochastic currents, the splitting probability of the first-passage problem, and the mean entropy production rate. Near equilibrium, the inequalities imply that mean first-passage times are lower bounded by the Van't Hoff-Arrhenius law, whereas far from thermal equilibrium the bounds describe a universal speed limit for rate processes. When the current is proportional to the stochastic entropy production, then the bounds are equalities, a remarkable property that follows from the fact that the exponentiated negative entropy production is a martingale.

Fermionic Walkers Driven Out of Equilibrium

We consider a discrete-time non-Hamiltonian dynamics of a quantum system consisting of a finite sample locally coupled to several bi-infinite reservoirs of fermions with a translation symmetry. In this setup, we compute the asymptotic state, mean fluxes of fermions into the different reservoirs, as well as the mean entropy production rate of the dynamics. Formulas are explicitly expanded to leading order in the strength of the coupling to the reservoirs.

Local detailed balance

We review the physical meaning and mathematical implementation of the condition of local detailed balance for a class of nonequilibrium mesoscopic processes. A central concept is that of fluctuating entropy flux for which the steady average gives the mean entropy production rate. We repeat how local detailed balance is essentially equivalent to the widely discussed fluctuation relations for that entropy flux and hence is at most ``only half of the story.''

Comments on “Global and Regional Entropy Production by Radiation Estimated from Satellite Observations”

AbstractA recent paper by Kato and Rose reports a negative correlation between the annual mean entropy production rate of the climate and the absorption of solar radiation in the CERES SYN1deg dataset, using the simplifying assumption that the system is steady in time. It is shown here, however, that when the nonsteady interannual storage of entropy is accounted for, the dataset instead implies a positive correlation; that is, global entropy production rates increase with solar absorption. Furthermore, this increase is consistent with the response demonstrated by an energy balance model and a radiative–convective model. To motivate this updated analysis, a detailed discussion of the conceptual relationship between entropy production, entropy storage, and entropy flows is provided. The storage-corrected estimate for the mean global rate of entropy production in the CERES dataset from all irreversible transfer processes is 81.9 mW m−2 K−1 and from only nonradiative processes is 55.2 mW m−2 K−1 (observations from March 2000 to February 2018).

Statistics of Reaction Flux and Dynamical Activity Associated with a Diffusion-Influenced Ligand-Binding Reaction.

In this paper, we consider a macromolecule with two competitive binding sites where a ligand can bind to and gives rise to a unicyclic reaction network consisting of four states-(i) a single state with both binding sites vacant, (ii) two states with one bound site and one free binding site, and (iii) an another single state with both sites occupied. We obtain probability densities of the time-integrated current along the clockwise direction and the dynamical activity or mean number of jumps between different states for finite times at a fast diffusion limit. On the other hand, in the diffusion-limited case, ligand diffusion between the two binding sites directly connects the mono-ligated states-changing the reaction scheme. Addition of the new reaction channel alters the precision of ligand occupancy to a single site, the mean dynamical activity, and the mean entropy production rate. All of these quantities are calculated with varying degrees of competition between the two sites for ligands, and we find that increase in the competition between the two sites decreases all above-mentioned additive functionals. The upper bound of precision associated with a single-site ligand occupancy for a diffusion-influenced reaction network is set by the mean dynamical activity (mean entropy production rate) at small (large) ligand concentrations at the steady-state limit.

Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Purge Flow and Main Flow Interaction in a Low-Speed Turbine Cascade Passage.

In order to protect the vulnerable turbine components from extreme high temperature, coolant flow is introduced from the compressor to the disk cavity, inevitably interacting with the main flow. This paper describes an experimental investigation of the interaction between the main flow and the purge flow in a low-speed turbine cascade with three purge flow rates, Cm = 0, Cm = 1%, and Cm = 2%. In order to study the effect of the interaction between the main flow and the purge flow on the secondary flows, a Rortex method developed by Liu Chaoquan is introduced to identify the vortex in the flow field. In the meantime, a method to calculate the mean entropy production rate based on the particle image velocimetry (PIV) result is adopted to investigate the flow loss. The PIV result indicates that the purge flow has a prominent impact on the flow field of the cascade passage, changing the velocity distribution that induces a local blockage area. The results of vortex identification show that the purge flow promotes the generation of the passage vortex near the suction side. In addition, the purge flow makes the passage vortex migrate to the tip wall direction, enlarging the region affected by the secondary flow. The mean entropy production (MEP) result shows that the flow loss is mainly caused by the passage vortex. The coincidence of the high-MEP region and the location of the passage vortex indicates that the purge flow increases the secondary flow loss by affecting the formation and the migration of the passage vortex.

Thermodynamic uncertainty for run-and-tumble–type processes

Thermodynamic uncertainty relations have emerged as universal bounds on current fluctuations in non-equilibrium systems. Here we derive a new bound for a particular class of run-and-tumble–type processes using the mathematical framework of renewal-reward theory which can be applied to both Markovian and non-Markovian systems. We demonstrate the results for selected single-particle models as well as a variant of the asymmetric simple exclusion process with collective tumbles. Our bound is relatively tight for a broad parameter regime and only requires knowledge of the statistics of run lengths and the mean entropy production rate of tumbles.

A model of Josephson junctions on Boson systems—Currents and entropy production rate

Non-equilibrium steady states, in the sense of Ruelle [Commun. Math. Phys. 224, 3–16 (2001)], of Boson systems with Bose–Einstein condensation are investigated with the aid of the C*-algebraic method. The model consists of a quantum particle and several bosonic reservoirs. We show that the mean entropy production rate is strictly positive and independent of phase differences provided that the temperatures or the chemical potentials of reservoirs are different. Moreover, Josephson currents occur without entropy production, if the temperatures and the chemical potentials of reservoirs are identical.

Entropy production and large deviation function for systems with microscopically irreversible transitions

We obtain the large deviation function for entropy production of the medium and its distribution function for the two-site totally asymmetric simple exclusion process (TASEP) and the three-state unicyclic network. Since such systems are described through microscopic irreversible transitions, we obtain time-dependent transition rates by sampling the states of these systems at a regular short time interval τ. These transition rates are used to derive the large deviation function for the entropy production in the nonequilibrium steady state and its asymptotic distribution function. The shapes of the large deviation function and the distribution function depend on the value of the mean entropy production rate which has a non-trivial dependence on the particle injection and withdrawal rates in the case of TASEP. Further, it is argued that in case of a TASEP, the distribution function tends to be like a Poisson distribution for smaller values of particle injection and withdrawal rates.

Large Deviations and Gallavotti–Cohen Principle for Dissipative PDEs with Rough Noise

We study a class of dissipative PDEs perturbed by an unbounded kick force. Under some natural assumptions, the restrictions of solutions to integer times form a homogeneous Markov process. Assuming that the noise is rough with respect to the space variables and has a non-degenerate law, we prove that the system in question satisfies a large deviation principle (LDP) in τ-topology. Under some additional hypotheses, we establish a Gallavotti–Cohen type symmetry for the rate function of an entropy production functional and the strict positivity and finiteness of the mean entropy production rate in the stationary regime. The latter result is applicable to PDEs with strong nonlinear dissipation.

Entropy production in the nonequilibrium steady states of interacting many-body systems

Entropy production is one of the most important characteristics of nonequilibrium steady states. We study here the steady-state entropy production, both at short times as well as in the long-time limit, of two important classes of nonequilibrium systems: transport systems and reaction-diffusion systems. The usefulness of the mean entropy production rate and of the large deviation function of the entropy production for characterizing nonequilibrium steady states of interacting many-body systems is discussed. We show that the large deviation function displays a kink-like feature at zero entropy production that is similar to that observed for a single particle driven along a periodic potential. This kink is a direct consequence of the detailed fluctuation theorem fulfilled by the probability distribution of the entropy production and is therefore a generic feature of the corresponding large deviation function.