Work fluctuations, transient violations of the second law and free-energy recovery methods: Perspectives in Theory and Experiments

TL;DR

This paper reviews fluctuation theorems and transient second law violations in small systems, highlighting how non-equilibrium single-molecule experiments enhance understanding of thermodynamics at microscopic scales.

Contribution

It provides a unified theoretical and experimental perspective on fluctuation theorems and free-energy recovery in small systems, emphasizing recent experimental insights.

Findings

Transient violations of the second law observed in experiments.

Free-energy recovery methods validated in single-molecule pulling experiments.

Enhanced understanding of thermodynamics in small systems through combined theory and experiments.

Abstract

In this report I discuss fluctuation theorems and transient violations of the second law of thermodynamics in small systems. Special emphasis is placed on free-energy recovery methods in the framework of non-equilibrium single-molecule pulling experiments. The treatment is done from a unified theoretical-experimental perspective and emphasizes how these experiments contribute to our understanding of the thermodynamic behavior of small systems