Christian Van den Broeck: What we can learn from confronting micro-reversibility with macro-irreversibility
The microscopic laws of physics are reversible, while macroscopic laws
are irreversible. By confronting these seemingly contradictory
observations, Onsager was able to deduce properties at the macroscopic
level, such as detailed balance or the symmetry of the Onsager matrix.
In this lecture, I show that one can go much further along this line of
thought, including dramatic illustrations such as the Brownian
refrigerator [1], the universality of efficiency of thermal machines at
maximum power [2], the microscopic definition of entropy production
[3], and the work and fluctuation theorems in small systems [4].
[1] C. Van den Broeck R. Kawai PRL 96, 210601 (2006);
M. van den Broek C. Van den Broeck PRL 100, 130601 (2008).
[2] C. Van den Broeck PRL 95, 190602 (2005);
M. Esposito K. Lindenberg C. Van den Broeck PRL 102,130602 (2009);
M. Esposito K. Lindenberg C. Van den Broeck EPL 85, 60010 (2009).
[3] R. Kawai, J.M.R. Parrondo, C. Van den Broeck PRL 98 080602(2007);
A Gomez-Marin, J.M.R. Parrondo, C. Van den Broeck EPL 82, 50002 (2008).
[4] B. Cleuren, C. Van den Broeck, R. Kawai PRL 96, 050601 (2006);
B. Cleuren, C. Van den Broeck EPL 79, 30001 (2007);
M. Esposito C. Van den Broeck, arXiv:0911.2666