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Entropy Production Associated with Aggregation into Granules in a Subdiffusive Environment
Piotr Weber1, Piotr Bełdowski2, Martin Bier3
1Atomic and Optical Physics Division, Department of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, Faculty of Applied Physics and Mathematics, Gdańsk University of Technology, Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland.
Entropy (Basel, Switzerland)
|December 3, 2020
Summary
We derived an expression for entropy production in growing granules, crucial for understanding colloidal suspensions and polymer aggregation dynamics. This work models granule size fluctuations in fractal environments using a fractional Fokker-Planck equation.
Area of Science:
- Statistical Mechanics
- Soft Matter Physics
- Polymer Science
Background:
- Granule formation and dissolution are key processes in colloidal suspensions and polymer systems.
- Fluctuations in granule size occur when binding energy is comparable to Brownian energy (k B T).
- Polymer conformational landscapes are often rough and fractal, leading to subdiffusion.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the entropy production associated with the growth and shrinkage of granules.
- To model granule dynamics in fractal environments using a fractional Fokker-Planck equation.
Main Methods:
- Setting up a fractional Fokker-Planck equation to describe granule aggregation.
- Deriving an expression for entropy production from the derived equation.
Main Results:
- An expression for the entropy production of a growing granule was derived.
- The study connects subdiffusion in fractal environments to granule dynamics.
Conclusions:
- The fractional Fokker-Planck equation provides a framework for studying entropy production in granule dynamics.
- This research offers insights into the behavior of aggregating systems like colloidal suspensions and polymers.
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