Thermodynamic bounds for diffusion in nonequilibrium systems with multiple timescales

Phys Rev E. 2023 Apr;107(4-1):044132. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.107.044132.

Abstract

We derive a thermodynamic uncertainty relation bounding the mean squared displacement of a Gaussian process with memory, driven out of equilibrium by unbalanced thermal baths and/or by external forces. Our bound is tighter with respect to previous results and also holds at finite time. We apply our findings to experimental and numerical data for a vibrofluidized granular medium, characterized by regimes of anomalous diffusion. In some cases our relation can distinguish between equilibrium and nonequilibrium behavior, a nontrivial inference task, particularly for Gaussian processes.