Steady state vs non-Markovian dynamics in systems connected to multiple thermal reservoirs

Abstract

In literature on stochastic thermodynamics it is stated that for a system connected to multiple thermal reservoirs, the transition rates between two energy levels equals the sum of transition rates corresponding to each thermal bath the system is connected to. We show that this assumption leads to an impossibility of the system attaining a steady state by considering a system connected to two thermal baths. Additionally by splitting up the system into subsystems with one subsystem connected to one thermal bath and another subsystem connected to a second bath, and the rest exchanging energy with these two, we show that the collective evolution of the system as a whole is non-Markovian.