We study the entropy production rate in systems described by linear Langevin equations, containing mixed even and odd variables under time reversal. Exact formulas are derived for several important quantities in terms only of the means and covariance
s of the random variables in question. These include the total rate of change of the entropy, the entropy production rate, the entropy flux rate and the three components of the entropy production. All equations are cast in a way suitable for large-scale analysis of linear Langevin systems. Our results are also applied to different types of electrical circuits, which suitably illustrate the most relevant aspects of the problem.
We study the spin transport in the quantum Heisenberg spin chain subject to boundary magnetic fields and driven out of equilibrium by Lindblad dissipators. An exact solution is given in terms of matrix product states, which allows us to calculate exa
ctly the spin current for any chain size. It is found that the system undergoes a discontinuous spin-valve-like quantum phase transition from ballistic to sub-diffusive spin current, depending on the value of the boundary fields. Thus, the chain behaves as an extremely sensitive magnonic logic gate operating with the boundary fields as the base element.
The statistics of the heat exchanged between two quantum XX spin chains prepared at different temperatures is studied within the assumption of weak coupling. This provides simple formulas for the average heat and its corresponding characteristic func
tion, from which the probability distribu- tion may be computed numerically. These formulas are valid for arbitrary sizes and therefore allow us to analyze the role of the thermodynamic limit in this non-equilibrium setting. It is found that all thermodynamic quantities are extremely sensitive to the quantum phase transition of the XX chain.
We study the transport of heat along a chain of particles interacting through a harmonic potential and subject to heat reservoirs at its ends. Each particle has two degrees of freedom and is subject to a stochastic noise that produces infinitesimal c
hanges in the velocity while keeping the kinetic energy unchanged. This is modelled by means of a Langevin equation with multiplicative noise. We show that the introduction of this energy conserving stochastic noise leads to Fouriers law. By means of an approximate solution that becomes exact in the thermodynamic limit, we also show that the heat conductivity $kappa$ behaves as $kappa = a L/(b+lambda L)$ for large values of the intensity $lambda$ of the energy conserving noise and large chain sizes $L$. Hence, we conclude that in the thermodynamic limit the heat conductivity is finite and given by $kappa=a/lambda$.
We analyze the transport of heat along a chain of particles interacting through anharmonic po- tentials consisting of quartic terms in addition to harmonic quadratic terms and subject to heat reservoirs at its ends. Each particle is also subject to a
n impulsive shot noise with exponentially distributed waiting times whose effect is to change the sign of its velocity, thus conserving the en- ergy of the chain. We show that the introduction of this energy conserving stochastic noise leads to Fourier law. The behavior of thels heat conductivity for small intensities of the shot noise and large system sizes are found to obey a finite-size scaling relation. We also show that the heat conductivity is not constant but is an increasing monotonic function of temperature.
We extend Kubos Linear Response Theory (LRT) to periodic input signals with arbitrary shapes and obtain exact analytical formulas for the energy dissipated by the system for a variety of signals. These include the square and sawtooth waves, or pulsed
signals such as the rectangular, sine and $delta$-pulses. It is shown that for a given input energy, the dissipation may be substantially augmented by exploiting different signal shapes. We also apply our results in the context of magnetic hyperthermia, where small magnetic particles are used as local heating centers in oncological treatments.
