Current fluctuations in periodically driven systems. (29th May 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Barato, Andre C; Chetrite, Raphael
• Is Part Of: Journal of statistical mechanics. (2018:May)
• Publication Date: 2018-05-29
• Subjects: 4 -- 9; Statistical mechanics -- Periodicals; Mechanics -- Statistical methods -- Periodicals; 530.1305
• DOI: 10.1088/1742-5468/aabfc5
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1742-5468

Abstract

Abstract: Small nonequelibrium systems driven by an external periodic protocol can be described by Markov processes with time-periodic transition rates. In general, current fluctuations in such small systems are large and may play a crucial role. We develop a theoretical formalism to evaluate the rate of such large deviations in periodically driven systems. We show that the scaled cumulant generating function that characterizes current fluctuations is given by a maximal Floquet exponent. Comparing deterministic protocols with stochastic protocols, we show that, with respect to large deviations, systems driven by a stochastic protocol with an infinitely large number of jumps are equivalent to systems driven by deterministic protocols. Our results are illustrated with three case studies: a two-state model for a heat engine, a three-state model for a molecular pump, and a biased random walk with a time-periodic affinity.