Name: Foundations and Applications of Non-Equilibrium Statistical Mechanics
Start: 2011-09-19T08:00:00+02:00
End: 2011-10-14T18:00:00+02:00
Location: Nordita

Monday, 19 September 2011

09:00 Welcome breakfast & Registration
Welcome breakfast & Registration
09:00 - 10:00
Room: 132:028

10:00 Welcome and Opening Remarks
Welcome and Opening Remarks
10:00 - 10:15
Room: FA32
10:15 Dissipation and the foundations of classical statistical mechanics - Denis Evans (The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia)
Dissipation and the foundations of classical statistical mechanics
- Denis Evans (The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia)
10:15 - 11:00
Room: FA32 Over the last 15 years we have discovered a group of related theorems that enable us to prove the ”laws” of thermodynamics. Each of these ”laws” is provable for time reversible, deterministic equations of motion that satisfy a mathematical condition called T-mixing. The axiom of causality is also required. These proofs involve a new mathematical quantity first defined in 2000, namely dissipation. Dissipation, not entropy, turns out to be the central quantity for the fluctuation theorems, the dissipation theorems, linear and nonlinear response theory, and the relaxation theorem. Using dissipation, we can also derive Clausius’ Inequality and Equality, without assuming the Second ”Law” of thermodynamics.
11:00 Quantum fluctuation theorems - Peter Talkner (University of Augsburg, Germany)
Quantum fluctuation theorems
- Peter Talkner (University of Augsburg, Germany)
11:00 - 11:45
Room: FA32 The fluctuation theorems of Jarzynski and Crooks impose restrictions on the statistics of work performed by an external force acting on a system that initially was in thermal equilibrium. Originally these relations were proven for classical systems. In this talk we shall present how they can be obtained for quantum systems [1]. The first precondition for their validity is a proper and consistent definition for work performed on a quantum system. As a second condition the system must initially be prepared in a thermal equilibrium state and third, the dynamics must be microscopically reversible. We further shall discuss the validity of the fluctuation theorems for open quantum systems and for systems subjected to projective measurements. [1] M. Campisi, P. Hanggi, O. Talkner, Rev. Mod. Phys., 83, 771 (2011).
15:00 Coffee
Coffee
15:00 - 16:00
Room: 132:028
Tuesday, 20 September 2011

09:30 Coffee
Coffee
09:30 - 10:00
Room: 132:028
10:00 Heat flux and the violation of Fluctuation Dissipation theorem during aging - Sergio Ciliberto (Lyon)
Heat flux and the violation of Fluctuation Dissipation theorem during aging
- Sergio Ciliberto (Lyon)
10:00 - 10:45
Room: 132:028
10:45 The arrow of time in evolutionary biology - Michael Lässig (University of Cologne)
The arrow of time in evolutionary biology
- Michael Lässig (University of Cologne)
10:45 - 11:30
Room: 132:028 Evolution is a quest for innovation: organisms adapt to changing natural selection by evolving new phenotypes. At the molecular level, adaptive evolution takes place in a sea of stochasticity generated by random new mutations and fluctuations in reproduction. The irreversibility of adaptive evolution can be measured by a quantity called fitness flux. This talk addresses the statistical foundation of molecular evolution, which is provided by a fitness flux theorem. The theorem shows that evolutionary dynamics and modern nonequilibrium thermodynamics obey strikingly analogous statistical principles. We discuss how fitness flux can be measured, using genomic data of the human influenza virus.
15:00 Coffee
Coffee
15:00 - 16:00
Room: 132:028
Wednesday, 21 September 2011

09:30 Coffee
Coffee
09:30 - 10:00
Room: 132:028
10:00 Stochastic thermodynamics of non-equilibrium steady states: From the FDT to efficient nano-machines - Udo Seifert (Stuttgart University)
Stochastic thermodynamics of non-equilibrium steady states: From the FDT to efficient nano-machines
- Udo Seifert (Stuttgart University)
10:00 - 10:45
Room: 132:028 Stochastic thermodynamics provides a framework for describing small systems embedded in a heat bath and externally driven to non-equilibrium [1]. Examples are colloidal particles in time-dependent optical traps, single biomolecules manipulated by optical tweezers or AFM tips, and motor proteins driven by ATP excess. For non-equilibrium steady states (NESSs), total entropy production obeys a detailed fluctuation theorem even for finite times [2]. As an alternative to the phenomenological approach of introducing an effective temperature in order to adjust the equilibrium form of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem (FDT) to a NESS, we have derived a transparent general form of the FDT in a NESS [3]. Moreover, generalized Green-Kubo relations hold true in NESSs under the weak assumption of local detailed balance [4]. Finally, this formalism allows to discuss the efficiency of autonomous soft nano-machines [5]. Where available, these theoretical results will be illustrated using data from experimental model systems. [1] U.S., Eur. Phys. J. B, 64, 423, 2008. [2] U.S., Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 040602, 2005. [3] U.S. and T. Speck, EPL 89, 10007, 2010. [4] U.S., Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 138101, 2010. [5] U.S., Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 020601, 2011.
10:45 Field theoretic formulation of a mode coupling equation for colloids - Frederic van Wijland (Laboratoire Matière et Systèmes Complexes, Université Paris Diderot)
Field theoretic formulation of a mode coupling equation for colloids
- Frederic van Wijland (Laboratoire Matière et Systèmes Complexes, Université Paris Diderot)
10:45 - 11:30
Room: 132:028 Mode-coupling approximations are at the core of the analysis of the slow dynamical properties of glasses. Unfortunately, such approximations are neither controlled nor systematic. We propose a route to carry out such an approximation, based on field-theoretic techniques, that relies on a small parameter expansion and that can, in principle, be generalized to higher orders. Our approach is consistent with the fluctuation-dissipation theorem requirements.
15:00 Coffee
Coffee
15:00 - 16:00
Room: 132:028

18:00 Conference dinner
Conference dinner
18:00 - 20:00
Room: 132:028
Thursday, 22 September 2011

09:30 Coffee
Coffee
09:30 - 10:00
Room: 132:028
10:00 Current fluctuations in non-equilibrium systems - Bernard Derrida (Laboratoire de Physique Statistique, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris)
Current fluctuations in non-equilibrium systems
- Bernard Derrida (Laboratoire de Physique Statistique, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris)
10:00 - 10:45
Room: 132:028 The talk will review a number of results obtained for diffusive systems on the fluctuations of the current of heat or of particles. It will also present more recent results on mechanical systems (hard particle gas) and on diffusive systems at a phase transition.
10:45 Recent advances in free energy recovery of molecular structures - Felix Ritort (Small Biosystems Lab, Universitat de Barcelona)
Recent advances in free energy recovery of molecular structures
- Felix Ritort (Small Biosystems Lab, Universitat de Barcelona)
10:45 - 11:30
Room: 132:028
14:00 Equilibration and thermalization under realistic preparation and measurement conditions - Peter Reimann (University of Bielefeld)
Equilibration and thermalization under realistic preparation and measurement conditions
- Peter Reimann (University of Bielefeld)
14:00 - 14:45
Room: 132:028
15:00 Coffee
Coffee
15:00 - 16:00
Room: 132:028
Friday, 23 September 2011

09:30 Coffee
Coffee
09:30 - 10:00
Room: 132:028
10:00 Asymptotics of work distributions in Langevin systems - Andreas Engel (University of Oldenburg)
Asymptotics of work distributions in Langevin systems
- Andreas Engel (University of Oldenburg)
10:00 - 10:45
Room: 132:028 Non-equilibrium work and fluctuation theorems highlight the large-deviation properties of thermodynamic quantities. Accordingly the tails of the probability densities of work, heat, or entropy are of special importance. However, by their very definition rare realizations from these tails are difficult to observe in experiments or simulations and the resulting histograms are imprecise exactly in the region of highest interest. The situation may be improved by combining the histograms with analytical expressions for the asymptotics of the probability distributions. In the case of driven Langevin systems the asymptotic behaviour of the work distribution can be determined from a saddle-point approximation in the functional integral describing the transformation of probability from the trajectory to the work. The calculation of the pre-exponential factor may improve the accuracy of the method substantially and allows to combine histogram and asymptotics without adjustable parameters. For the special case of harmonic potentials with time-dependent frequency the asympotitics of the work distribution is always exponential.
10:45 Physics and Information Theory: Landauer's principle and beyond - Ryoichi Kawai (Department of Physics, University of Alabama at Birmingham)
Physics and Information Theory: Landauer's principle and beyond
- Ryoichi Kawai (Department of Physics, University of Alabama at Birmingham)
10:45 - 11:30
Room: 132:028 The Landauer's principle states that erasure of a bit of information requires at least k*ln2 of entropy production. This principle becomes a foundation of the relation between information theory and physics. Since its inception, the principle has been challenged by many people while others have demonstrated its validity. Due to the lack of rigorous proof, there have been many misleading statements about the principle. In fact, the above statement of the principle itself invites misinterpretation. The recent development in nonequilibrium statistical mechanics provides us with tools to investigate the relation between information and physics. Nevertheless, there are still misunderstanding and misleading statements in recent literature. In order to stimulate discussion at NORDITA, I will present a brief review on the issues related to the Landauer's principle and thermodynamics of logic gates utilizing the recent understanding of irreversible processes.
15:00 Reception
Reception
15:00 - 18:00
Room: 132:028
Saturday, 24 September 2011
Sunday, 25 September 2011