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arXiv · 1303.0145

Carnot process with a single particle

Johannes Hoppenau·Markus Niemann·Andreas Engel
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Abstract

We determine the statistics of work in isothermal volume changes of a classical ideal gas consisting of a single particle. Combining our results with the findings of Lua and Grosberg [J. Chem. Phys. B 109, 6805 (2005)] on adiabatic expansions and compressions we then analyze the joint probability distribution of heat and work for a microscopic, non-equilibrium Carnot cycle and determine its efficiency at maximum power.

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Johannes Hoppenau, Markus Niemann, Andreas Engel. 2013-05-24. Carnot process with a single particle. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.87.062127

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