Entropy Production in Mesoscopic Stochastic Thermodynamics: Nonequilibrium Kinetic Cycles Driven by Chemical Potentials, Temperatures, and Mechanical Forces

TL;DR

This paper reviews mesoscopic stochastic thermodynamics, focusing on entropy production and nonequilibrium cycle kinetics, providing insights into complex chemical, physical, and biological processes at the nanoscale.

Contribution

It introduces a mesoscopic stochastic framework for nonequilibrium thermodynamics, emphasizing cycle kinetics and their role in energy transduction processes.

Findings

Analysis of entropy production in simple stochastic models

Elucidation of Onsager reciprocal relations in mesoscopic systems

Discussion of energy transduction in chemical and biological processes

Abstract

Nonequilibrium thermodynamics (NET) investigates processes in systems out of global equilibrium. On a mesoscopic level, it provides a statistical dynamic description of various complex phenomena such as chemical reactions, ion transport, diffusion, thermochemical, thermomechanical and mechanochemical fluxes. In the present review, we introduce a mesoscopic stochastic formulation of NET by analyzing entropy production in several simple examples. The fundamental role of nonequilibrium steady-state cycle kinetics is emphasized. The statistical mechanics of Onsager's reciprocal relations in this context is elucidated. Chemomechanical, thermomechanical, and enzyme-catalyzed thermochemical energy transduction processes are discussed. It is argued that mesoscopic stochastic NET provides a rigorous mathematical basis of fundamental concepts needed for understanding complex processes in chemistry, physics and biology, and which is also relevant for nanoscale technological advances.