Asymptotics of work distributions in non-equilibrium systems

TL;DR

This paper investigates the asymptotic behavior of work distributions in non-equilibrium systems using optimal fluctuation methods, deriving equations for Langevin dynamics and applying results to improve free energy estimates.

Contribution

It introduces a method to analyze the asymptotics of work distributions in non-equilibrium systems and derives specific equations for Langevin dynamics.

Findings

Derived Euler-Lagrange equations for Langevin systems

Applied method to three examples, improving free energy estimates

Enhanced accuracy of Jarzynski equation-based calculations

Abstract

The asymptotic behaviour of the work probability distribution in driven non-equilibrium systems is determined using the method of optimal fluctuations. For systems described by Langevin dynamics the corresponding Euler-Lagrange equation together with the appropriate boundary conditions and an equation for the leading pre-exponential factor are derived. The method is applied to three representative examples and the results are used to improve the accuracy of free energy estimates based on the application of the Jarzynski equation.