Stochastic Efficiency for Effusion as a Thermal Engine

TL;DR

This paper studies the stochastic efficiency of effusion as a thermal engine, providing probability distributions and confirming universal features, with implications for experimental verification.

Contribution

It offers explicit probability distributions of efficiency for effusion engines, confirming universal stochastic thermodynamics features and suggesting experimental validation.

Findings

Probability distribution of efficiency at finite times

Asymptotic large deviation results

Reproduction of universal features from prior theory

Abstract

The stochastic efficiency of effusion as a thermal engine is investigated within the framework of stochastic thermodynamics. Explicit results are obtained for the probability distribution of the efficiency both at finite times and in the asymptotic regime of large deviations. The universal features, derived in Verley et al., Nature Communications 5, 4721 (2014), are reproduced. The effusion engine is a good candidate for both the numerical and experimental verification of these predictions.