Thermodynamic Irreversibility in Underdamped Brownian Motion with Spatial Temperature Gradients
Fuente:
arXiv
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| Natura: | Preprint |
| Pubblicazione: |
2025
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| _version_ | 1866909778315313152 |
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| author | Taye, Mesfin |
| author_facet | Taye, Mesfin |
| contents | We analyze underdamped Brownian motion in non-isothermal media with quadratic, linear, and piecewise-constant temperature profiles. Exact identities for entropy production and entropy extraction are derived, addressing whether a vanishing rate implies equilibrium. For a free particle (no external forces or ratchets), the instantaneous entropy production and extraction rates decay to zero at long times despite a spatial temperature gradient. However, their time-integrated values remain finite, demonstrating intrinsic irreversibility arising from kinetic-energy-mediated heat flow from hot to cold regions. Hence, zero entropy-production rate does not certify equilibrium in non-isothermal underdamped systems. Without loads/potentials, most thermodynamic rates vanish asymptotically while irreversibility persists via cumulative heat transfer. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_07272 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Thermodynamic Irreversibility in Underdamped Brownian Motion with Spatial Temperature Gradients Taye, Mesfin Statistical Mechanics Stochastic methods, Transport processes, Diffusion processes We analyze underdamped Brownian motion in non-isothermal media with quadratic, linear, and piecewise-constant temperature profiles. Exact identities for entropy production and entropy extraction are derived, addressing whether a vanishing rate implies equilibrium. For a free particle (no external forces or ratchets), the instantaneous entropy production and extraction rates decay to zero at long times despite a spatial temperature gradient. However, their time-integrated values remain finite, demonstrating intrinsic irreversibility arising from kinetic-energy-mediated heat flow from hot to cold regions. Hence, zero entropy-production rate does not certify equilibrium in non-isothermal underdamped systems. Without loads/potentials, most thermodynamic rates vanish asymptotically while irreversibility persists via cumulative heat transfer. |
| title | Thermodynamic Irreversibility in Underdamped Brownian Motion with Spatial Temperature Gradients |
| topic | Statistical Mechanics Stochastic methods, Transport processes, Diffusion processes |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.07272 |