Physical Review X (PRX) is pleased to open the publication of a special collection of papers on stochastic thermodynamics, a new one in the journal’s series of special collections intended to showcase a selected set of current and emerging fields and topics.
Thermodynamics is one of the most fundamental branches of physics. In its classical form it gave us the tools to master energy transfer and energy conversion in macroscopic systems operating not too far from equilibrium. Recent spectacular developments in nonequilibrium statistical mechanics have extended thermodynamics far beyond its traditional (macroscopic) realm of validity. It can nowadays describe small systems ranging from molecular motors to electronic tunnel junctions that are subject to strong fluctuations and that operate far from equilibrium. This new fundamental expansion is called stochastic thermodynamics. It has been very successful in revealing, understanding, and improving energy conversion in small biological as well as artificial devices. It also predicts universal features in the nonequilibrium fluctuations of these systems, which are at the origin of the second law of thermodynamics. Modern experimental techniques in single-molecule pulling, optical trapping of colloidal particles, and single-electron counting in mesoscopic electronic devices, among many others, have been used to confirm the validity of stochastic thermodynamics. Its latest developments also indicate that it provides unique and powerful tools to assess the thermodynamic cost of information processing in fields as diverse as chemical computing, biological sensing, feedback control, and quantum information.
Since its launch in May 2011, PRX has already made a strong debut and built up its reputation as a high-impact, broad-scope, open-access journal. Given that one of PRX’s mandates is to publish and disseminate innovative and important research with broad, cross-field impact, the field of stochastic thermodynamics lends itself as a perfect choice for highlighting by a PRX special collection. This collection will showcase some of the currently most active and promising research directions in this field. The beautiful paper by Proesmans et al. that explores both theoretically and experimentally the thermodynamic efficiency of a “Brownian duet”—a tiny stochastic engine of a colloidal particle driven by a duo of time-dependent forces—is the first to appear in this collection, and more articles will follow during the next few months. We hope that PRX’s readership will enjoy reading about, and benefit from, the exciting developments reported in the collection.
Massimiliano Esposito
Guest Editor for Special Collection on Stochastic Thermodynamics
The Editors
Physical Review X
