Dissipative systems from mechanical and thermodynamical point of view

This book is intended to illustrate the fluctuating behaviour of a small machanical system in tight interaction with a heat bath, thereby experiencing frictional forces and stochastic random forces. The model is a one-dimensional classical mechanical system described by Langevin equation including inertia. The equation of motion is reduced to first order in time by solving the appropriate Hamilton-Jacobi equation with friction. The two-point configurational transition probability density is recast into the form of a functional integral over the exponential of the action, and this expression is confronted with the similar one obtained from statistical thermodynamical principles. This work is intended to represent a contribution to understanding the thermodynamical and statistical mechanical properties of low dimensional systems strongly interacting with the environment, which may be polymers, biological macromolecules or nanoscale devices.

Autorentext

Michele Battezzati, born in Turin, Piedmont (Italy). Laureate in Mathematical Sciences and in Physics with thesis in Biophysics at the Univ. of Genoa. Researcher at Consiglio nazionale delle Ricerche since 1969, First Researcher at CNR and INAF in Turin from 1995. Associated to PRIN-MIUR project of the Ministry of University and Research 2005-09.