Fluctuation theorem between non-equilibrium states in an RC circuit

TL;DR

This paper experimentally verifies the detailed fluctuation theorem for entropy production during transitions between two non-equilibrium states in an RC circuit, extending the theorem's validation beyond equilibrium and stationary states.

Contribution

It provides the first experimental verification of the fluctuation theorem for non-equilibrium state transitions in an RC circuit, broadening its applicability.

Findings

Fluctuation theorem holds with high accuracy for various driving frequencies and amplitudes.

Entropy production statistics align with theoretical predictions.

The study extends fluctuation theorem validation to non-stationary, non-equilibrium processes.

Abstract

Fluctuation theorems impose constraints on the probability of observing negative entropy production in small systems driven out of equilibrium. The range of validity of fluctuation theorems has been extensively tested for transitions between equilibrium and non equilibrium stationary states, but not between general non equilibrium states. Here we report an experimental verification of the detailed fluctuation theorem for the total amount of entropy produced in the isothermal transition between two non-equilibrium states. The experimental setup is a parallel $RC$ circuit driven by an alternating current. We investigate the statistics of the heat released, of the variation of the entropy of the system, and of the entropy produced for processes of different durations. We show that the fluctuation theorem is satisfied with high accuracy for current drivings at different frequencies and different amplitudes.