The Gallavotti-Cohen Fluctuation Theorem and the Nonequilibrium Work Relation for Free Energy Differences

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  • 29 January 1999
Abstract
There are only a very few know relations in statistical dynamics that are valid for systems driven arbitrarily far from equilibrium. One of these is the Gallavotti-Cohen fluctuation theorem, which places conditions on the entropy production probability distribution of nonequilibrium systems. Another recently discovered far from equilibrium expression relates nonequilibrium measurements of the work done on a system to equilibrium free energy differences. In this paper we derive a generalized version of the Gallavotti-Cohen fluctuation theorem for stochastic, microscopically reversible dynamics. Invoking this generalized theorem provides a succinct proof of the nonequilibrium work relation.

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