Wasserstein speed limits for Langevin systems

Physical systems transition between states with finite speed that is limited by energetic costs. In this work, we derive bounds on transition times for general Langevin systems that admit a decomposition into reversible and irreversible dynamics, in terms of the Wasserstein distance between states and the energetic costs associated with respective reversible and irreversible currents. For illustration we discuss Brownian particles subject to arbitrary forcing and an RLC circuit with time-varying inductor. Published by the American Physical Society 2024