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arXiv · 1707.00367

Information-theoretic bound on the entropy production to maintain a classical nonequilibrium distribution using ancillary control

Jordan M. Horowitz·Jeremy L. England
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Abstract

There are many functional contexts where it is desirable to maintain a mesoscopic system in a nonequilibrium state. However, such control requires an inherent energy dissipation. In this article, we unify and extend a number of works on the minimum energetic cost to maintain a mesoscopic system in a prescribed nonequilibrium distribution using ancillary control. For a variety of control mechanisms, we find that the minimum amount of energy dissipation necessary can be cast as an information-theoretic measure of distinguishability between the target nonequilibrium state and the underlying equilibrium distribution. This work offers quantitative insight into the intuitive idea that more energy is needed to maintain a system farther from equilibrium.

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Jordan M. Horowitz, Jeremy L. England. 2017-07-02. Information-theoretic bound on the entropy production to maintain a classical nonequilibrium distribution using ancillary control. https://arxiv.org/abs/1707.00367

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