Tightening the thermodynamic uncertainty relations with null-entropy events: What we learn when nothing happens
Fluctuation theorems establish that thermodynamic processes at the microscale can occasionally result in negative entropy production. At the microscale, another distinct possibility becomes more likely: processes in which no entropy is produced overall. In this work, we explore the constraints imposed by such null-entropy events on the fluctuations of thermodynamic currents. By incorporating the probability of null-entropy events, we obtain tighter bounds on finite-time thermodynamic uncertainty relations derived from fluctuation theorems. We validate this framework using an example of a qudit SWAP engine.
Authors
- Gabriel T. Landi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8451-9712)
- André M. Timpanaro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9242-5708)
Institutions
- University of Rochester (US)
- Universidade Federal do ABC (BR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physical review. E
- Published
- 2026-02-17
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/nbp6-kmyv
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- U.S. Department of Energy
- Office of Science
- Basic Energy Sciences