Dissipation bounds the amplification of transition rates far from equilibrium

TL;DR

This paper develops a general thermodynamic framework that relates energy dissipation to the maximum possible rate enhancement of transitions in nonequilibrium systems, providing fundamental bounds on their dynamics.

Contribution

It introduces a universal speed-limit relating excess heat dissipation to transition rate amplification far from equilibrium, supported by theoretical and example-based analysis.

Findings

A fundamental speed-limit constrains rate enhancement by energy dissipation.

The framework applies to systems driven by autonomous and deterministic forces.

Rate amplification is tightly bounded by the derived thermodynamic limits.

Abstract

Complex systems can convert energy imparted by nonequilibrium forces to regulate how quickly they transition between long lived states. While such behavior is ubiquitous in natural and synthetic systems, currently there is no general framework to relate the enhancement of a transition rate to the energy dissipated, or to bound the enhancement achievable for a given energy expenditure. We employ recent advances in statistical thermodynamics to build such a framework, which can be used to gain mechanistic insight on transitions far from equilibrium. We show that under general conditions, there is a basic speed-limit relating the typical excess heat dissipated throughout a transition and the rate amplification achievable. We illustrate this trade-off in canonical examples of diffusive barrier crossings in systems driven with autonomous and deterministic external forcing protocols. In both cases, we find that our speed limit tightly constrains the rate enhancement.