2016/02/29 by Zongping Gong, Yueheng Lan, H. T. Quan · 1 citation
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics #Brownian motion #Harmonic oscillator #Physics #Quantum mechanics #Statistical physics #Thermal Radiation and Cooling Technologies #Thermodynamics #Work (physics) #cond-mat.stat-mech #stochastic dynamics and bifurcation
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.117.180603
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 180603 (2016) · 6+3 pages, 3+2 figures
arxiv created 2016/08/16 · openalex publication_date 2016/10/27 · arxiv updated 2016/10/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
The piston system (particles in a box) is the simplest paradigmatic model in traditional thermodynamics. However, the recently established framework of stochastic thermodynamics (ST) fails to apply to this model system due to the embedded singularity in the potential. In this Letter, we study the ST of a particle in a box by adopting a novel coordinate transformation technique. Through comparing with the exact solution of a breathing harmonic oscillator, we obtain analytical results of work distribution for an arbitrary protocol in the linear response regime and verify various predictions of the fluctuation-dissipation relation. When applying to the Brownian Szilard engine model, we obtain the optimal protocol λt=λ02t/τ for a given sufficiently long total time τ. Our study not only establishes a paradigm for studying ST of a particle in a box but also bridges the long-standing gap in the development of ST.