2014

Beyond heat baths II: Framework for generalized thermodynamic resource theories

Halpern, Nicole Yunger

Understand

Thermodynamics, which describes vast systems, has been reconciled with small scales, relevant to single-molecule experiments, in resource theories.

  • Resource theories have been used to model exchanges of energy and information.
  • Recently, particle exchanges were modeled; and an umbrella family of thermodynamic resource theories was proposed to model diverse baths, interactions, and free energies.
  • This paper motivates and details the family's structure and prospective applications.

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