Thermodynamics of a Colloidal Particle in a Time-Dependent Nonharmonic Potential

2005/12/19 by Valentin Blickle, V. Blickle, Thomas Speck +7 · 6 citations
Chemistry · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics #Quantum Electrodynamics and Casimir Effect #cond-mat.stat-mech #thermodynamics and calorimetric analyses

paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.96.070603

published as Phys. Rev. Lett., 96, 070603 (2006)

arxiv created 2005/12/19 · openalex publication_date 2006/02/23 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

We study the motion of an overdamped colloidal particle in a time-dependent nonharmonic potential. We demonstrate the first lawlike 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.

Citations

• Integral fluctuation theorem for the housekeeping heat
• Distribution of work in isothermal nonequilibrium processes
• Work probability distribution in single-molecule experiments
• Steady-State Thermodynamics of Langevin Systems
• Extension of the Fluctuation Theorem
• The Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics of Small Systems

Cited by

• Work fluctuations in a nematic liquid crystal
• Fluctuation theorems for harmonic oscillators
• Probability density functions of work and heat near the stochastic resonance of a colloidal particle
• Einstein Relation Generalized to Nonequilibrium
• Entropy Production for Mechanically or Chemically Driven Biomolecules
• Modified fluctuation-dissipation and Einstein relation at nonequilibrium steady states