Entropy production in a generalized breathing parabola model: exact path integral calculations

Abstract

Models of particle dynamics based on Brownian motion and its variants are a rich source of insights into the stochastic behaviour of complex condensed phase systems. In this paper we use one such variant - a breathing parabola with an additive time-dependent term b(t) - as a non-trivial and previously unexplored model system for the verification of the integral fluctuation theorem (IFT). We demonstrate the IFT's applicability to this system within the framework of an exact path integral calculation. As a by-product of the calculation, we also show that in the limit b(t) equals to zero, where the model is representative of the solution dynamics of a colloid trapped in a harmonic potential with a time-dependent spring constant a(t), the mean of the total entropy production del S_tot can be obtained in closed form as a function of a(t). This result is expected to be relevant to the study of colloidal heat engines and other cyclically operating molecular machines. While del_S tot conforms to the IFT (and therefore assumes both positive and negative values), its mean is shown to increase monotonically with time, as required by the second law of thermodynamics.