Abstract
The steady-state fluctuation theorem (SSFT) gives the relative probability of occurrence of events violating the second law of thermodynamics in a system with a small number of degrees of freedom. Using two-dimensional complex plasma as a working medium, wherein particle level observation of instantaneous velocities and positions has become experimentally possible, we perform “first-principles” molecular-dynamics simulations using the Yukawa potential in the presence of external gravity and an external temperature gradient leading to the onset and formation of Rayleigh-Bénard convection cells. In such a far-from-equilibrium steady state, the SSFT is put to the test. It is demonstrated that the SSFT is satisfied without any additional fit parameter for observation time , comparable to or greater than the relevant microscopic timescale associated with the system under observation.
10 More- Received 8 July 2019
- Revised 24 September 2019
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.100.053201
©2019 American Physical Society