This paper is devoted to the study of geodesic distances defined on a subdomain given Carnot group, which are bounded both from above and below by fixed multiples Carnot–Carathéodory distance. We show that uniform convergence (on compact sets) these can be equivalently characterized in terms Γ-convergence several kinds variational problems. Moreover, we investigate relation between class intrin...

In this paper, a comparison between two well-known finite time heat engine models is presented: the Carnot-like heat engine based on specific heat transfer laws between the cyclic system and the external heat baths and the Low-Dissipation model where irreversibilities are taken into account by explicit entropy generation laws. We analyze the mathematical relation between the natural variables o...

As research in the area of excess power production moves forward, issues associated with thermal to electric conversionbecome increasingly important. This paper provides a brief tutorial on basic issues, including the Carnot limit, entropy, and thermoelectric conversion. Practical thermal to electric conversion is possible well below the Carnot limit, and this leads to a high threshold for self...

We give a short axiomatic introduction to Carnot groups and their subRiemannian and subFinsler geometry. We explain how such spaces can be metrically described as exactly those proper geodesic spaces that admit dilations and are isometrically homogeneous.