Nonequilibrium dynamics and entropy production of a trapped colloidal particle in a complex nonreciprocal medium

Abstract

We discuss the two-dimensional motion of a Brownian particle that is confined to a harmonic trap and driven by a shear flow. The surrounding medium induces memory effects modelled by a linear, typically nonreciprocal coupling of the particle coordinates to an auxiliary (hidden) variable. The system's behavior resulting from the microscopic Langevin equations for the three variables is analyzed by means of exact moment equations derived from the Fokker-Planck representation, and numerical Brownian Dynamics (BD) simulations. Increasing the shear rate beyond a critical value we observe, for suitable coupling scenarios with nonreciprocal elements, a transition from a stationary to an instationary state, corresponding to an escape from the trap. We analyze this behavior, analytically and numerically, in terms of the associated moments of the probability distribution, and from the perspective of nonequilibrium thermodynamics. Intriguingly, the entropy production rate remains finite when crossing the stability threshold.