Restoring a fluctuation-dissipation theorem in a nonequilibrium steady state

TL;DR

This paper derives an explicit expression for FDT violation in a nonequilibrium steady state of a driven colloidal particle and shows how to restore the equilibrium FDT form by measuring velocity relative to the local mean.

Contribution

It provides a new method to restore the fluctuation-dissipation theorem in nonequilibrium steady states by adjusting the measurement reference.

Findings

Explicit expression for FDT violation in driven colloidal particles

Restoration of FDT by measuring velocity relative to local mean

Clarification of the link between detailed balance breaking and FDT violation

Abstract

In a nonequilibrium steady state, the violation of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem (FDT) is connected to breaking detailed balance. For the velocity correlations of a driven colloidal particle we calculate an explicit expression of the FDT violation. The equilibrium form of the FDT can be restored by measuring the velocity with respect to the local mean velocity.