Reprint

Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics of Small Systems

Edited by
August 2018
334 pages
  • ISBN978-3-03897-057-6 (Paperback)
  • ISBN978-3-03897-058-3 (PDF)

This book is a reprint of the Special Issue Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics of Small Systems that was published in

Chemistry & Materials Science
Computer Science & Mathematics
Physical Sciences
Summary
A challenging frontier in modern statistical physics concerns systems with a small number of degrees of freedom, far from the thermodynamic limit. Beyond the general interest in the foundation of statistical mechanics, the relevance of this subject is due to the recent increase of resolution in the observation and manipulation of biological and man-made objects at micro- and nano-scales. A peculiar feature of small systems is the role played by fluctuations, which cannot be neglected and are responsible for many non-trivial behaviors. The study of fluctuations of thermodynamic quantities, such as energy or entropy, goes back to Einstein, Onsager, and Kubo; more recently, interest in this matter has grown with the establishment of new fluctuation–dissipation relations, and of so-called stochastic thermodynamics. This turning point has received a strong impulse from the study of systems that are far from the thermodynamic equilibrium, due to very long relaxation times, as in disordered systems, or due to the presence of external forcing and dissipation, as in granular or active matter. Applications of the thermodynamic and statistical mechanics of small systems range from molecular biology to micro-mechanics, including models of nano-transport, Brownian motors, and (living or artificial) self-propelled organisms.
Format
  • Paperback
License
© 2018 by the authors; CC BY-NC-ND license
Keywords
active matter; stochastic energetics; Stirling engine; Kolmogorov–Sinai entropy, Lyapunov exponents; periodic boundary conditions; chaotic dynamics; N-body simulation; stochastic thermodynamics; nonequilibrium thermodynamics; dissipation; relative entropy; Fourier’s law; kinetic theory; non equilibrium statistical mechanics; active particles; entropy production; Clausius relation; fluctuation phenomena; random processes; noise and Brownian motion; nonequilibrium and irreversible thermodynamics; control theory; stochastic processes; cluster expansions; PMF calculations; systematic coarse-graining; three-body effective potential; discrete nonlinear schrödinger; discrete breathers; negative temperatures; open systems; small systems; thermodynamics; magnetization; Ising model; Potts model; dilution; non-equilibrium statistical mechanics; gamma distribution; stochastic processes; Fokker-Planck equation; fluctuations and noise; large deviations; condensation phenomenon; ensemble inequivalence; canonical ensemble; granular gas; heterogeneous media; hydrodynamics; active matter non-equilibrium; linear response; Kovacs effect; athermal system; master equation; H-functional; Hamiltonian systems; classical statistical mechanics; ensemble equivalence; long-range interacting systems; stochastic thermodynamics; strong coupling; Zwanzig model; quantum-classical correspondence for heat; quantum thermodynamics; degeneracy effects; magnetic quantum engine; nonequilibrium thermodynamics; landscape-flux decomposition; mutual information rate; entropy production rate; entropy; local entropy rate; specific entropy rate; information dynamics; k-nearest neighbor estimation; nanopore; computer simulations; finite-size effects; calculation of free energies; thermodynamic limit; two-dimensional Ising model; spin-spin correlation functions; exact solution; short-range order; long-range order; statistical mechanics; small systems; stochastic thermodynamics; non-equilibrium fluctuations; large deviations