Work

The Concept of Minimal Dissipation and the Identification of Work in Autonomous Systems: a View from Classical Statistical Physics

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Recently, the concept of minimal dissipation has been brought forward as a means to define work performed on open quantum systems [Phys. Rev. A 105 , 052216 (2022)]. We discuss this concept from the point of view of projection operator formalisms in classical statistical physics. We analyse an autonomous composite system which consists of a system and an environment in the most general sense (i.e. we neither impose conditions on the coupling between system and environment nor on the properties of the environment). One condition any useful definition of work needs to fulfil is that it reproduces the thermodynamic notion of work in the limit of weak coupling to an environment that has infinite heat capacity. We propose a projection operator route to a definition of work that reaches this limit and we discuss its relation to minimal dissipation.

Source: Journal of Statistical Physics

DOI: 10.1007/s10955-025-03514-w

Authors: Anja Seegebrecht, Tanja Schilling

Institution: University of Freiburg

Language: English

Topic: Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics

Subfield: Statistical and Nonlinear Physics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,090

Funder: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft