Speaker
Prof.
Hans Fogedby
(Aarhus University)
Description
We consider the large deviation function for a harmonic chain
composed of N particles driven at the end points by heat
reservoirs, first derived by Saito and Dhar and Kundu et al.
Within a Langevin description we carry out a standard path
integral calculation in Fourier space. The large deviation
function is given in terms of a transmission Green's
function and is, moreover, consistent with the fluctuation
theorem. We, moreover, consider an extension of a single
particle model suggested by Derrida and Brunet and also
discuss the two-particle case. We find a simple expression
for the tails of the heat distribution which turn out to
decay exponentially. We also discuss the limit of large N
and present a closed expression for the large deviation
function. Finally, we present a derivation of the
fluctuation theorem on the basis of a Fokker-Planck
description. This result is not restricted to the harmonic
case but is valid for a general interaction potential
between the particles.
