Abstract
Based on the observation that the thermodynamic equilibrium free energy of an open quantum system in contact with a thermal environment is the difference between the free energy of the total system and that of the bare environment, the validity of the Crooks theorem and of the Jarzynski equality is extended to open quantum systems. No restrictions on the nature of the environment or on the strength of the coupling between system and environment need to be imposed. This free energy entering the Crooks theorem and the Jarzynski equality is closely related to the Hamiltonian of mean force that generalizes the classical statistical mechanical concept of the potential of mean force.
- Received 23 February 2009
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.210401
©2009 American Physical Society
Viewpoint
Fluctuations in open systems
Published 26 May 2009
Small nonequilibrium systems behave quite unexpectedly when in contact with a thermal reservoir. However, all of them—from molecular machines to molecular magnets—are described by a single fluctuation theorem.
See more in Physics