Near-optimal protocols in complex nonequilibrium transformations
Abstract
Classical thermodynamics was developed to help design the best protocols for operating heat engines that remain close to equilibrium at all times. Modern experimental techniques for manipulating microscopic and mesoscopic systems routinely access far-from-equilibrium states, demanding new theoretical tools to describe the optimal protocols in this more complicated regime. Prior studies have sought, in simple models, the protocol that minimizes dissipation. We use computational tools to investigate the diversity of low-dissipation protocols. We show that optimal protocols can be accompanied by a vast set of near-optimal protocols, which still offer the substantive benefits of the optimal protocol. Although solving for the optimal protocol is typically difficult, computationally identifying a near-optimal protocol can be comparatively easy.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Aug 29, 2016
- Source ID
- 10.1073/pnas.1606273113
Entities
People
- Gavin E. Crooks
- Grant M. Rotskoff
- Phillip L. Geissler
- Todd R Gingrich
Organizations
- Army Research Office
- Hertz Foundation
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- National Science Foundation
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry