Entropy Production of Nanosystems with Time Scale Separation

Shou Wen Wang*, Kyogo Kawaguchi, Shin Ichi Sasa, Lei Han Tang

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

31 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Energy flows in biomolecular motors and machines are vital to their function. Yet experimental observations are often limited to a small subset of variables that participate in energy transport and dissipation. Here we show, through a solvable Langevin model, that the seemingly hidden entropy production is measurable through the violation spectrum of the fluctuation-response relation of a slow observable. For general Markov systems with time scale separation, we prove that the violation spectrum exhibits a characteristic plateau in the intermediate frequency region. Despite its vanishing height, the plateau can account for energy dissipation over a broad time scale. Our findings suggest a general possibility to probe hidden entropy production in nanosystems without direct observation of fast variables.

Original languageEnglish
Article number070601
Number of pages5
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume117
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 12 Aug 2016

Scopus Subject Areas

  • General Physics and Astronomy

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