Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics of Mesoscopic Systems

The Markovian dynamics of a Brownian particle is derived in the case that the local temperature is a stochastic variable. The isolated mesoscopic "particle plus environment" system is analyzed in the microcanonical ensemble by means of nonlinear-process projection methods. The ensuing generalized Kramers Fokker-Planck equation involves a...

Nonisothermal activation: Nonlinear transport theory

We present the statistical mechanical foundation of nonisothermal stochastic processes, thereby generalizing Kramers' Fokker-Planck model for thermal activation and providing a microscopic context for Rolf Landauer's original ideas on state-dependent diffusion. By applying projection operator methods suitable for nonlinear mesoscopic systems...

Two- and four-point Kapitza resistance between harmonic solids

The calculation of the Kapitza boundary resistance between dissimilar harmonic solids has since long (Little [Can. J. Phys. 37 (1959) 334]) suffered from a paradox: this resistance erroneously tends to a finite value in the limit of identical solids. We resolve this paradox by calculating temperature differences in the final heat-transporting...

Local temperature measurement and Kapitza boundary resistance

A calculation of the Kapitza boundary resistance between harmonic solids has been noted previously (Little, Can. J. Phys. 37 (1959) 334; Leung and Young, Phys. Rev. B 36 (1987) 4973) to lead to apparently paradoxical results in the limit of identical solids: instead of vanishing, the resistance tends to a finite limit. We resolve this paradox by...

Nonequilibrium thermodynamics of Josephson devices

The rapid increase of the Josephson free energy as the temperature of a tunneling junction drops below the superconducting transition temperature Tc is shown to make this transition of first order in a system in which the phase difference φ across the junction is constrained to have a nonzero value. Taking this effect into account, we introduce...

Nonlocal mixing in the turbulent boundary layer (abstract)

Boundary-layer turbulence as a kangaroo process

A nonlocal mixing-length theory of turbulence transport by finite size eddies is developed by means of a novel evaluation of the Reynolds stress. The analysis involves the contruct of a sample path space and a stochastic closure hypothesis. The simplifying property of exhange (strong eddies) is satisfied by an analytical sampling rate model. A...

Nonlocal stochastic mixing-length theory and the velocity profile in the turbulent boundary layer

Turbulence mixing by finite size eddies will be treated by means of a novel formulation of nonlocal K-theory, involving sample paths and a stochastic closure hypothesis, which implies a well defined recipe for the calculation of sampling and transition rates. The connection with the general theory of stochastic processes will be established. The...

Temperature relaxation at the Kapitza-boundary-resistance paradox

The calculation of the Kapitza boundary resistance between dissimilar harmonic solids has for a long time [W. A. Little, Can. J. Phys. 37, 334 (1959)] presented a paradox: this resistance erroneously tends to a finite value in the limit of identical solids. We resolve this paradox by calculating temperature differences in the final heat...

Stochastic Theory of Turbulence Mixing by Finite Eddies in the Turbulent Boundary Layer

Turbulence mixing is treated by means of a novel formulation of nonlocal K-theory, involving sample paths and a stochastic hypothesis. The theory simplifies for mixing by exchange (strong-eddies) and is then applied to the boundary layer (involving scaling). This maps boundary layer turbulence onto a nondiffusive (Kubo-Anderson or kangaroo) type...