Top Research Papers on Thermodynamics

Three different neural network algorithms to calculate thermodynamic properties as well as dynamic correlation functions at finite temperatures for quantum lattice models using minimally entangled states are presented.

Thermodynamics serves as a universal means for studying physical systems from an energy perspective. In recent years, with the establishment of the field of stochastic and quantum thermodynamics, the ideas of thermodynamics have been generalized to small fluctuating systems. Independently developed in mathematics and statistics, the optimal transport theory concerns the means by which one can optimally transport a source distribution to a target distribution, deriving a useful metric between probability distributions, called the Wasserstein distance. Despite their seemingly unrelated nature, a...

This work provides a thermodynamic algorithm for exponentiating a real matrix and introduces the concept of thermodynamic parallelism to explain this speedup, stating that thermodynamic noise provides a resource leading to effective parallelization of computations.

This is a review of the concepts of purpose, direction, and objective in the discipline of thermodynamics, which is a pillar of physics, natural sciences, life science, and engineering science. Reviewed is the relentless evolution of this discipline toward accounting for evolutionary design with direction, and for establishing the concept of purpose in methodologies of modeling, analysis, teaching, and design optimization. Evolution is change after change toward flow access, with direction in time, and purpose. Evolution does not have an ‘end’. In thermodynamics, purpose is already the definin...

Using recently developed consistent and robust first order relativistic hydrodynamics of a dissipative fluid we propose a generalization but weak version of Tolman-Ehrenfest relation and Klein's law on a general background spacetime. These relations are appeared to be a consequence of thermal equilibrium state of the fluid, defined by the absence of heat flux. We interpret them as the defining relations for the local temperature and chemical potential of the fluid. The validity of usual Tolman-Ehrenfest relation and Klein's law deeply depends on the existence of a global timelike Killing vecto...

A system can be driven out of equilibrium by both time-dependent and nonconservative forces, which gives rise to a decomposition of the dissipation into two nonnegative components, called the excess and housekeeping entropy productions. We derive thermodynamic uncertainty relations for the excess and housekeeping entropy. These can be used as tools to estimate the individual components, which are in general difficult to measure directly. We introduce a decomposition of an arbitrary current into housekeeping and excess parts, which provide lower bounds on the respective entropy production. Furt...

We investigate the quantum Mpemba effect from the perspective of nonequilibrium quantum thermodynamics by studying relaxation dynamics of quantum systems coupled to a Markovian heat bath, which are described by Davies maps. Starting from a state with coherences in the energy eigenbasis, we demonstrate that an exponential speedup to equilibrium will always occur if the state is transformed to a diagonal state in the energy eigenbasis, provided that the spectral gap of the generator is defined by a complex eigenvalue. When the transformed state has a higher nonequilibrium free energy, we argue u...

The title theory is formulated. It entails a quantum-coherent variant of the Fermi-Dirac distribution and casts new light on neutrino oscillations. It might enable the incorporation of neutrino mixing into the modeling of core-collapse supernovae and neutron-star mergers.

We present a systematic approach to construct complete equations of state (EOSs), or to ensure thermodynamic consistency of complete and incomplete forms of EOSs using a minimal and sufficient set of relations. We apply the proposed approach to some common classical equations of state for pure materials. In fact, classical equations of state come generally in an incomplete form that hides essencial properties necessary for thermodynamic consistency. If not aware of such constraints one may generalize the EOS, or fit its thermodynamic parameters from emprirical data in an inconsistent way.

Abstract Thermodynamics is an unusual theory. Prominent figures, including J. C. Maxwell and E. T. Jaynes, have suggested that thermodynamics is anthropocentric, and contemporary approaches label thermodynamics a “subjective theory.” Here, we evaluate the arguments for anthropocentrism but conclude that instead of pointing to an anthropocentric view, they point towards a resource-relative understanding of thermodynamics which can be shorn of the “subjective gloss.”

We investigate the non-equilibrium thermodynamics of pure decoherence. In a pure decoherence process, the system Hamiltonian is a constant of motion and there is no direct energy exchange between the system and its surroundings. Nevertheless, the environment’s energy is not generally conserved and in this work we show that this leads to non-trivial heat dissipation as a result of decoherence alone. This heat has some very distinctive properties: it obeys an integral fluctuation relation and can be interpreted in terms of the entropy production associated with populations in the energy eigenbas...

Starting at the mesoscopic level with a general formulation of stochastic thermodynamics in terms of Markov jump processes, we identify the scaling conditions that ensure the emergence of a (typically nonlinear) deterministic dynamics and an extensive thermodynamics at the macroscopic level. We then use large deviations theory to build a macroscopic fluctuation theory around this deterministic behavior, which we show preserves the fluctuation theorem. For many systems (e.g. chemical reaction networks, electronic circuits, Potts models), this theory does not coincide with Langevin-equation appr...

The students believed that the utilization of these computer applications represented a significant improvement in teaching and expressed their interest in having similar materials in other degree courses (75%).

The main objective of this work is to improve the kinetic properties and desorption temperature in MgFeH3 by applying different pressures. The first principles study was used for this purpose using the WIEN2k code, and all the calculations proceeded without a spin channel. We have theoretically determined that MgFeH3 has 3.64 wt. % gravimetric hydrogen storage capacity. The cubic crystal structure significantly improves the formation energy as well as desorption temperature at higher pressures. Phonon dispersion curves predict that the stability of the compound decreases with increasing pressu...

This work considers an alternative physics-based computing paradigm based on classical thermodynamics, to provide a near-term approach to accelerating linear algebra and presents simple thermodynamic algorithms for solving linear systems of equations, computing matrix inverses, and computing matrix determinants.

Partial resetting, whereby a state variable x(t) is reset at random times to a value ax(t) , 0⩽a⩽1 , generalizes conventional resetting by introducing the resetting strength a as a parameter. Partial resetting generates a broad family of non-equilibrium steady states (NESS) that interpolates between the conventional NESS at strong resetting (a = 0) and a Gaussian distribution at weak resetting (a → 1). Here such resetting processes are studied from a thermodynamic perspective, and the mean cost associated with maintaining such NESS are derived. The resetting phase of the dynamics is implemente...

The General Equation for Non-Equilibrium Reversible–Irreversible Coupling (GENERIC) provides the structure of mesoscopic multiscale dynamics that guarantees the emergence of equilibrium states. Similarly, a lift of the GENERIC structure to iterated cotangent bundles, called a rate GENERIC, guarantees the emergence of the vector fields that generate the approach to equilibrium. Moreover, the rate GENERIC structure also extends Onsager’s variational principle. The maximum entropy principle in the GENERIC structure becomes the Onsager variational principle in the rate GENERIC structure. In the ab...

Trade-off relations place fundamental limits on the operations that physical systems can perform. This Letter presents a trade-off relation that bounds the correlation function, which measures the relationship between a system's current and future states, in Markov processes. The obtained bound, referred to as the thermodynamic correlation inequality, states that the change in the correlation function has an upper bound comprising the dynamical activity, a thermodynamic measure of the activity of a Markov process. Moreover, by applying the obtained relation to the linear response function, it ...

Reasonable parametrizations of the current Hubble data set of the expansion rate of our homogeneous and isotropic universe, after suitable smoothing of these data, strongly suggest that the area of the apparent horizon increases irrespective of whether the spatial curvature of the metric is open, flat or closed. Put in another way, any sign of the spatial curvature appears consistent with the second law of thermodynamics.

Thermodynamics is regarded as a universal but not foundational theory because its laws for macroscopic quantities have not been derived from microscopic entities. Thus, to root thermodynamics into the fundamental substance, atomism is revived, thinking that the light quantum is the indivisible and permanent element. Assuming the same basic building blocks constitute everything, the state of any system can be quantified by entropy, the logarithmic probability measure multiplied by Boltzmann’s constant. Then, the change in entropy expresses the system’s evolution toward thermodynamic balance wit...

Are concepts of heat and efficiency applicable to atom-size machines or to nanoelectronics components? Can we rebuild thermodynamics from laws of quantum mechanics?

In today’s changing world, all kinds of problems are plaguing people’s thinking. Why is there a conflict between Russia and Ukraine? Why did the Soviet Union continue to expand and interfere in the internal affairs of other countries? What is the difference between Roma in Europe and Hakka in China? What impact does the change in global temperature have on the development of human society? Why did the United States lose in Vietnam and Afghanistan? This book uses the knowledge of thermodynamics to explore the problems of social systems. We can even apply the theory of social thermodynamics to t...

Information based thermodynamic logic is revisited. It consists of two parts: Part A applies the modern theory of probability in which an arbitrary convex function \phi is employed as an analytic"device"to express information as statistical dependency contained in the topological sub-\sigma-algebra structure. Via thermo-doubling, Fenchel-Young equality (FYE) that consists of \phi(x) and its conjugate \psi(y) establishes the notion of equilibrium between x and y through duality symmetry and the principle of maximum entropy/minimum free energy. Part B deals with a given set of repetitive measure...

The frozen star is a recent proposal for a non-singular solution of Einstein's equations that describes an ultracompact object which closely resembles a black hole from an external perspective. The frozen star is also meant to be an alternative, classical description of an earlier proposal, the highly quantum polymer model. Here, we show that the thermodynamic properties of frozen stars closely resemble those of black holes: Frozen stars radiate thermally, with a temperature and an entropy that are perturbatively close to those of black holes of the same mass. Their entropy is calculated using...

The thermodynamic uncertainty relation (TUR) and thermodynamic speed limit (TSL) for deterministic chemical reaction networks (CRNs) are generalized and the scaled diffusion coefficient derived by considering the connection between macro- and mesoscopic CRNs plays an essential role.

We establish that boundary degrees of freedom associated with a generic co-dimension one null surface in D dimensional pure Einstein gravity naturally admit a thermodynamical description. We expect the null surface thermodynamics to universally follow as a result of the diffeomorphism invariance of the theory, not relying on other special features of the null surface or the gravity theory. Using standard surface charge analysis and covariant phase space method, we formulate laws of null surface thermodynamics which are local equations over an arbitrary null surface paralleling local versions th...

This work identifies stochastic units (s-units) as the building blocks for Thermodynamic AI hardware, and employs a Maxwell’s demon device that guides the system to produce non-trivial states.

We derive a variational expression for the correlation time of physical observables in steady-state diffusive systems. As a consequence of this variational expression, we obtain lower bounds on the correlation time, which provide speed limits on the self-averaging of observables. In equilibrium, the bound takes the form of a trade-off relation between the long- and short-time fluctuations of an observable. Out of equilibrium, the trade-off can be violated, leading to an acceleration of self-averaging. We relate this violation to the steady-state entropy production rate, as well as the geometri...

A thermodynamic constraint applicable to nonequilibrium, stationary fluctuations is reported and applied to determining the heat dissipated by living cells at the nanoscale, which reveals nonuniform heat dissipation along the equatorial cell contour of red blood cells.

Metal ions play crucial roles in protein- and ligand-mediated interactions. They not only act as catalysts to facilitate biological processes but are also important as protein structural elements. Accurately predicting metal ion interactions in computational studies has always been a challenge, and various methods have been suggested to improve these interactions. One such method is the 12-6-4 Lennard-Jones (LJ)-type nonbonded model. Using this model, it has been possible to successfully reproduce the experimental properties of metal ions in aqueous solution. The model includes induced dipole ...

A new perspective on the role of protein aggregation in disease is provided by phrasing the problem in terms of a system that, under constant energy consumption, attempts to maintain a healthy, aggregate-free state against the thermodynamic driving forces that inexorably push it toward pathological aggregation.

We present a simple approximation to estimate the largest charge that a given molecule can hold until fragmentation into smaller charged species becomes more energetically favorable. This approximation solely relies on the ionization potentials, electron affinities of the parent and fragment species, and also on the neutral parent's dissociation energy. By parameterizing these quantities, it is possible to obtain analytical phase diagrams of polycationic stability. We demonstrate the applicability of this approach by discussing the maximal charge dependence on the size of the molecular system....

A critical point is an important structure in the phase diagram of a thermodynamic system. In this work, we introduce topology to the study of the black hole thermodynamics for the first time by following Duan's topological current $\phi$-mapping theory. Each critical point is endowed with a topological charge. We find that critical points can be divided into two classes, the conventional and the novel. Further study shows that the first-order phase transition can extend from the conventional critical point, while the presence of the novel critical point cannot serve as an indicator of the pre...

The physical origin of behaviour in biological organisms is distinct from those of non-living systems in one significant way: organisms exhibit intentionality or goal-directed behaviour. How may we understand and explain this important aspect in physical terms, grounded in laws of physics and chemistry? In this article, we discuss recent experimental and theoretical progress in this area and future prospects of this line of thought. The physical basis for our investigation is thermodynamics, though other branches of physics and chemistry have an important role. This article is part of the them...

We show how distinct terminally disposed self-organizing processes can be linked together so that they collectively suppress each other's self-undermining tendency despite also potentiating it to occur in a restricted way. In this way, each process produces the supportive and limiting boundary conditions for the other. The production of boundary conditions requires dynamical processes that decrease local entropy and increase local constraints. Only the far-from-equilibrium dissipative dynamics of self-organized processes produce these effects. When two such complementary self-organizing proces...

We derive annual sky maps of the proton temperature in the inner heliosheath (IHS), and track their temporal evolution over the years 2009–2016 of Interstellar Boundary Explorer observations. Other associated thermodynamic parameters also determined are the density, kappa (the parameter that characterizes kappa distributions), temperature rate, polytropic index, and entropy. We exploit the theory of kappa distributions and their connection with polytropes, to (i) express a new polytropic quantity Π that remains invariant along streamlines where temperature and density may vary, (ii) parameteri...

We study the thermodynamics of open systems weakly driven out-of-equilibrium by nonconservative and time-dependent forces using the linear regime of stochastic thermodynamics. We make use of conservation laws to identify the potential and nonconservative components of the forces. This allows us to formulate a unified near-equilibrium thermodynamics. For nonequilibrium steady states, we obtain an Onsager theory ensuring nonsingular response matrices that is consistent with phenomenological linear irreversible thermodynamics. For time-dependent driving protocols that do not produce nonconservati...

The quantum-corrected near-extremal entropy exhibits the behavior characteristic of the Schwarzian model and predicts a lifting of the ground state degeneracy for the extremal Kerr black hole.

These notes aim to provide an introduction to the basics of black hole thermodynamics. After explaining Bekenstein's original proposal that black holes have entropy, we discuss Hawking's discovery of black hole radiation, its analog for Rindler space in the Unruh effect, the Euclidean approach to black hole thermodynamics, some basics about von Neumann entropy and its applications, the Ryu-Takayanagi formula, and the nature of a white hole.

The principle of microscopic reversibility says that, in equilibrium, two-time cross-correlations are symmetric under the exchange of observables. Thus, the asymmetry of cross-correlations is a fundamental, measurable, and often-used statistical signature of deviation from equilibrium. Here we find a simple and universal inequality that bounds the magnitude of asymmetry by the cycle affinity, i.e., the strength of thermodynamic driving. Our result applies to a large class of systems and all state observables, and it suggests a fundamental thermodynamic cost for various nonequilibrium functions...

In low-dimensional systems, indistinguishable particles can display statistics that interpolate between bosons and fermions. Signatures of these “anyons” have been detected in two-dimensional quasiparticle excitations of the fractional quantum Hall effect, however experimental access to these quasiparticles remains limited. As an alternative to these “topological anyons,” we propose “statistical anyons” realized through a statistical mixture of particles with bosonic and fermionic symmetry. We show that the framework of statistical anyons is equivalent to the generalized exclusion statistics (...

Important concepts underpinning thermodynamics, including ensemble averaging and Gibbs's treatment of bulk phase heterogeneities in the region of an interface, give reason to believe that these equations might be valid to smaller scales than was previously thought.

: Thermodynamics is the science of the interactions between energy and matter. It was formalized in the late 19th century and remains an essential piece in solving many technological challenges that society faces today. Yet, it is often considered complex and challenging, perhaps because it is often taught within a rigid mathematical framework, without highlighting the extensive range of applications and the tools that it offers for understanding and elaborating a sustainable future. The authors of this paper have performed an industrial survey (Kontogeorgis et al., Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. , 2021...

Processes at the nanoscale happen far away from the thermodynamic limit, far from equilibrium and are dominated by fluctuations and, perhaps, even quantum effects. This book establishes a consistent thermodynamic framework for such processes by combining tools from non-equilibrium statistical mechanics and the theory of open quantum systems. The book is accessible for graduate students and of interest to all researchers striving for a deeper understanding of the laws of thermodynamics beyond their traditional realm of applicability. It puts most emphasis on the microscopic derivation and und...

The electromagnetic fields (D, H) represent contravariant components of an antisymmetric 4‐tensor, while the fields (E, B) represent covariant components of the same 4‐tensor. Both sets are identical in Lorentz frames. The governing equations for them represent equations of balance for the flux of D and the flux B across open surfaces and they are invariant under arbitrary analytic transformation of space and time. This convenient property has motivated mechanicians to reformulate mechanics and thermodynamics in terms of the symmetric 4‐tensor of energy‐momentum so as to exhibit, perhaps, the ...

It is a common view in philosophy of physics that thermodynamics is a non-fundamental theory. This is motivated in particular by the fact that thermodynamics is considered to be a paradigmatic example for a theory that can be reduced to another one, namely statistical mechanics. For instance, the statement “temperature is mean molecular kinetic energy” has become a textbook example for a successful reduction, despite the fact that this statement is not correct for a large variety of systems. In this article, we defend the view that thermodynamics is a fundamental theory, a position that we jus...

In this tutorial, we present the definition, interpretation, and properties of some of the main quasiprobabilities that can describe the statistics of measurement outcomes evaluated at two or more times. Such statistics incorporate the incompatibility of the measurement observables and the state of the measured quantum system. We particularly focus on Kirkwood-Dirac quasiprobabilities and related distributions. We also discuss techniques to experimentally access a quasiprobability distribution, ranging from the weak two-point measurement scheme, to a Ramsey-like interferometric scheme and proc...

We review recent progress in optimal control in stochastic thermodynamics. Theoretical advances provide in-depth insight into minimum-dissipation control with either full or limited (parametric) control, and spanning the limits from slow to fast driving and from weak to strong driving. Known exact solutions give a window into the properties of minimum-dissipation control, which are reproduced by approximate methods in the relevant limits. Connections between optimal-transport theory and minimum-dissipation protocols under full control give deep insight into the properties of optimal control an...

A phenomenological theory of evolution and of the origin of life that incorporates both equilibrium and nonequilibrium evolutionary processes within a mathematical framework of the theory of learning is developed and major transitions in evolution can be modeled as a special case of bona fide physical phase transitions.

Among the study of black hole thermodynamics, topology offers a novel approach and perspective for classifying black hole systems. In this work, we explore the thermodynamical topology of the quantum BTZ black hole by employing the concept of the generalized free energy. To fully characterize the thermodynamics, we introduce two distinct topological numbers. The first one is determined by an expression, denoted by $z$, derived from the free energy. Although it can provide us with some local physical explanations, sufficient physical significance still lacks from a global perspective. On the ot...