Getting more from pushing less: Negative specific heat and conductivity in nonequilibrium steady states

R. K.P. Zia; E. L. Praestgaard; O. G. Mouritsen

doi:10.1119/1.1427088

Getting more from pushing less: Negative specific heat and conductivity in nonequilibrium steady states

R. K.P. Zia, E. L. Praestgaard, O. G. Mouritsen

64 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

For students familiar with equilibrium statistical mechanics, the notion of a positive specific heat, being intimately related to the idea of stability, is both intuitively reasonable and mathematically provable. However, for systems in nonequilibrium stationary states, coupled to more than one energy reservoir, a negative specific heat is entirely possible. We present a minimal system that displays this phenomenon. For a system in contact with two thermal baths at different temperatures, the (internal) energy may increase when a thermostat is turned down. In another context, a similar phenomenon is negative conductivity, where a current may increase by decreasing the drive (for example, an external electric field). The counter-intuitive behavior in both processes may be described as getting more from pushing less. The crucial ingredients for this phenomenon and the elements needed for a minimal system are also presented.

Original language	English
Journal	American Journal of Physics
Volume	70
Issue number	4
Pages (from-to)	384-392
Number of pages	9
ISSN	0002-9505
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1119/1.1427088
Publication status	Published - 1 Dec 2002

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AB - For students familiar with equilibrium statistical mechanics, the notion of a positive specific heat, being intimately related to the idea of stability, is both intuitively reasonable and mathematically provable. However, for systems in nonequilibrium stationary states, coupled to more than one energy reservoir, a negative specific heat is entirely possible. We present a minimal system that displays this phenomenon. For a system in contact with two thermal baths at different temperatures, the (internal) energy may increase when a thermostat is turned down. In another context, a similar phenomenon is negative conductivity, where a current may increase by decreasing the drive (for example, an external electric field). The counter-intuitive behavior in both processes may be described as getting more from pushing less. The crucial ingredients for this phenomenon and the elements needed for a minimal system are also presented.

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Getting more from pushing less: Negative specific heat and conductivity in nonequilibrium steady states

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