2010/11/11 by Udo Seifert · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #cond-mat.stat-mech #cond-mat.soft #q-bio.MN
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.106.020601
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 020601 (2011)
arxiv created 2010/11/11 · arxiv updated 2015/05/20
We consider nano-sized artificial or biological machines working in steady state enforced by imposing non-equilibrium concentrations of solutes or by applying external forces, torques or electric fields. For unicyclic and strongly coupled multicyclic machines, efficiency at maximum power is not bounded by the linear response value 1/2. For strong driving, it can even approach the thermodynamic limit 1. Quite generally, such machines fall in three different classes characterized, respectively, as "strong and efficient", "strong and inefficient", and "balanced". For weakly coupled multicyclic machines, efficiency at maximum power has lost any universality even in the linear response regime.