Nonequilibrium fluctuations in small systems: From physics to biology
نویسنده
چکیده
In this paper I am presenting an overview on several topics related to nonequilibrium fluctuations in small systems. I start with a general discussion about fluctuation theorems and applications to physical examples extracted from physics and biology: a bead in an optical trap and single molecule force experiments. Next I present a general discussion on path thermodynamics and consider distributions of work/heat fluctuations as large deviation functions. Then I address the topic of glassy dynamics from the perspective of nonequilibrium fluctuations due to small cooperatively rearranging regions. Finally, I conclude with a brief digression on future perspectives.
منابع مشابه
Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking at the Fluctuating Level in Classical and Quantum Systems
Phase transitions not anticipated from the static behavior of many-body systems may happen however at their dynamic fluctuating level. We observe for the first time this striking and general phenomenon measuring current fluctuations in different stochastic transport models in one and two dimensions [1-3]. While small fluctuations result from the sum of weakly correlated local events, for curren...
متن کاملThe Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics of Small Systems
S systems found throughout physics, chemistry, and biology manifest striking properties as a result of their tiny dimensions. Examples of such systems include magnetic domains in ferromagnets, which are typically smaller than 300 nm; quantum dots and biological molecular machines that range in size from 2 to 100 nm; and solidlike clusters that are important in the relaxation of glassy systems a...
متن کاملTemporal asymmetry of fluctuations in nonequilibrium steady states.
Temporal asymmetries of fluctuation paths in nonequilibrium microscopic shearing systems are observed for the first time. Inspired by theories that predict asymmetry of fluctuation paths in stochastic dynamics, we focus on deterministic reversible particle models, which represent a small part of a macroscopic system. We have monitored and measured the asymmetry of the fluctuation paths of vario...
متن کاملAUTHOR and affiliation:
INTRODUCTION This short review covers a wide selection of topics from a multidisciplinary area of dynamics of nonequilibrium systems in physics, chemistry, biology. Theoretical models of colloid particle and protein deposition and adhesion at surfaces, accompanied by relaxation processes, of reaction kinetics with and without diffusion, of phase coarsening and nucleation, will be surveyed. The ...
متن کاملMesoscopic Non-equilibrium Thermodynamics for the Stochastic Dynamics of Small-scale Systems
We show how to extend the use of thermodynamic concepts into the mesoscopic domain where fluctuations and nonlinearities play an important role. The theory presented: mesoscopic nonequilibrium thermodynamics, provides a new interpretation of local equilibrium that is formulated at small scales. From it one derives kinetic equations and nonlinear transport equation for the study of small-scale s...
متن کامل