Dissipation in a finite-size bath

Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2011 Jul;84(1 Pt 1):011121. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.84.011121. Epub 2011 Jul 18.

Abstract

We investigate the interaction of a particle with a finite-size bath represented by a set of independent linear oscillators with frequencies that fall within a finite bandwidth. We discover that when the oscillators have particular frequency distributions, the finite-size bath behaves much as an infinite-size bath exhibiting dissipation properties and thus allowing irreversible energy absorption from a particle immersed in it. We also present a reinterpretation of the Langevin equation using a perturbation approach in which the small parameter represents the inverse of the number of oscillators in the bath, elucidating the relationship between finite-size and infinite-size bath responses.

MeSH terms

  • Hot Temperature
  • Models, Statistical
  • Models, Theoretical
  • Oscillometry / methods
  • Particle Size
  • Physics / methods*
  • Probability