Periodically driven thermodynamic systems under vanishingly small viscous drives

Area of Science:

• Thermodynamics
• Non-equilibrium physics
• Statistical mechanics

Background:

• Periodically driven thermodynamic systems can achieve stable nonequilibrium oscillating states.
• Low viscosity drives in these systems present unique challenges due to singular Langevin dynamics.
• Understanding these exotic states is crucial for advancing beyond equilibrium physics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a theoretical method for probing driven thermodynamic systems in the low viscosity limit.
• To identify and characterize novel oscillating states in this challenging regime.
• To explore the practical applications of these discovered states.

Main Methods:

• Application of singular perturbation theory.
• Utilization of Floquet theory for driven systems.
• Analysis of Langevin dynamics near vanishing viscosity.

Main Results:

• A method is proposed to obtain oscillating states in the low viscosity limit.
• Two distinct classes of distributions were identified in these states.
• These distributions exhibit unique properties with potential for practical use.

Conclusions:

• The proposed method successfully probes exotic nonequilibrium states in driven thermodynamic systems.
• The identified distributions offer promising avenues for applications such as system cooling and controlled chemical reactions.
• This work opens new possibilities for manipulating matter using weakly interacting driven environments.