Upside/Downside statistical mechanics of nonequilibrium Brownian motion. I. Distributions, moments, and correlation functions of a free particle

Galen T. Craven, Abraham Nitzan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

Statistical properties of Brownian motion that arise by analyzing, separately, trajectories over which the system energy increases (upside) or decreases (downside) with respect to a threshold energy level are derived. This selective analysis is applied to examine transport properties of a nonequilibrium Brownian process that is coupled to multiple thermal sources characterized by different temperatures. Distributions, moments, and correlation functions of a free particle that occur during upside and downside events are investigated for energy activation and energy relaxation processes and also for positive and negative energy fluctuations from the average energy. The presented results are sufficiently general and can be applied without modification to the standard Brownian motion. This article focuses on the mathematical basis of this selective analysis. In subsequent articles in this series, we apply this general formalism to processes in which heat transfer between thermal reservoirs is mediated by activated rate processes that take place in a system bridging them.

Original languageEnglish
Article number044101
JournalJournal of Chemical Physics
Volume148
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 28 Jan 2018

Funding

FundersFunder number
Israel-U.S. Binational Science Foundation
U.S. National Science FoundationCHE1665291
National Science Foundation1665291
California Department of Fish and GameTH 820/11-1
University of Pennsylvania
Deutsche ForschungsgemeinschaftDFG TH 820/11-1

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Upside/Downside statistical mechanics of nonequilibrium Brownian motion. I. Distributions, moments, and correlation functions of a free particle'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this