# Contrasting work fluctuations and distributions in systems with short-range and long-range correlations

## TL;DR

This paper compares work fluctuations and distributions in systems with short-range and long-range correlations, revealing that long-range correlations lead to broader distributions and influence the applicability of fluctuation theorems.

## Contribution

It demonstrates how long-range correlations fundamentally alter work fluctuation behavior and the usefulness of fluctuation theorems in different physical systems.

## Key findings

- Long-range correlations cause broader work distribution functions.
- Work fluctuations differ significantly between short-range and long-range correlated systems.
- Fluctuation theorems are more applicable in systems with long-range correlations.

## Abstract

It is shown that the work fluctuations and work distribution functions are fundamentally different in systems with short-range versus long-range correlations. The two cases considered with long- range correlations are magnetic work fluctuations in an equilibrium isotropic ferromagnet, and work fluctuations in a non-equilibrium fluid with a temperature gradient. The long-range correlations in the former case are due to equilibrium Goldstone modes, while in the latter they are due to generic non-equilibrium effects. The magnetic case is of particular interest since an external magnetic field can be used to tune the system from one with long-range correlations, to one with only short- range correlations. It is shown that in systems with long-range correlations the work distribution is extraordinarily broad compared to systems with only short-range correlations. Surprisingly these results imply that fluctuations theorems such as the Jarzynski fluctuation theorem are more useful in systems with long-range correlations than in systems with short-range correlations.