Project R-2150

Irreversibility and efficiency in small-scale systems (Research)

In contrast to the time-reversible microscopic laws of physics, most macroscopic phenomena are time-irreversible. Recently, exact expressions were obtained for entropy production and thermodynamic efficiency. We will check in this research project how these results can be applied to small scale systems such as two-dimensional quantum dots, classical Coulomb clusters, photo-electric and photo-chemical devices. In such systems, fluctuations are prominent and they determine to a large extend the properties. At the same time, the difference between reversibility and irreversibility diminishes. Furthermore, such systems are promising in the context of efficiency as the losses due to irreversibility can be limited more easily. The main purpose of the project is to propose experimental systems and to study via computer simulations under which conditions the effects of irreversibility and the efficiency in small scale systems can be experimentally observed.

01 January 2010 - 31 December 2013