%0 Journal Article
%T Work Relations Connecting Nonequilibrium Steady States Without Detailed Balance
%A Ying Tang
%A Ruoshi Yuan
%A Jianhong Chen
%A Ping Ao
%J Physics
%D 2014
%I arXiv
%R 10.1103/PhysRevE.91.042108
%X Bridging equilibrium and nonequilibrium statistical physics attracts sustained interest. Hallmarks of nonequilibrium systems include a breakdown of detailed balance, and an absence of a priori potential function corresponding to the Boltzmann-Gibbs distribution, without which classical equilibrium thermodynamical quantities could not be defined. Here, we construct dynamically the potential function through decomposing the system into a dissipative part and a conservative part, and develop a nonequilibrium theory by defining thermodynamical quantities based on the potential function. Concepts for equilibrium can thus be naturally extended to nonequilibrium steady state. We elucidate this procedure explicitly in a class of time-dependent linear diffusive systems without mathematical ambiguity. We further obtain the exact work distribution for an arbitrary control parameter, and work equalities connecting nonequilibrium steady states. Our results provide a direct generalization on Jarzynski equality and Crooks fluctuation theorem to systems without detailed balance.
%U http://arxiv.org/abs/1409.0498v2