2005/09/19 by F. Ritort
Physics and Astronomy · #cond-mat.stat-mech
published as J. Phys. Chem. B (2005) 109, 6787-6792 · 8 pages, 2 figures. Contribution to the special issue 'D. Chandler Festschrift'
arxiv created 2005/09/19 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01
We investigate nonequilibrium temperatures in a two-state system driven to a nonequilibrium steady state by the action of an oscillatory field. The nonequilibrium temperature is determined by coupling a small cavity or probe to the nonequilibrium system and studying the fluctuating noise in the cavity, as has been proposed in the context of glassy systems. We show the presence of resonant effects in the nonequilibrium temperature and discuss the existence of a constitutive steady-state equation in such nonequilibrium conditions. We propose this simple model as an excellent system to carry out experimental measurements of nonequilibrium temperatures. This may help to better understand the physical meaning of this elusive concept.