Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Commentary
  • Published:

Diverse phenomena, common themes

Our framework for understanding non-equilibrium behaviour is yet to match the simplicity and power of equilibrium statistical physics. But recent theoretical and experimental advances reveal key principles that unify seemingly unrelated topics.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Schrödinger, E. What is Life? (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1944).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Marchetti, M. C. et al. Rev. Mod. Phys. 85, 1143–1189 (2013).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Prost, J., Jülicher, F. & Joanny, J-F. Nature Phys. 11, 111–117 (2015).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. Eisert, J., Friesdorf, M. & Gogolin, C. Nature Phys. 11, 124–130 (2015).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Srednicki, M. Phys. Rev. E 50, 888–901 (1994).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Pekola, J. P. Nature Phys. 11, 118–123 (2015).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Hänggi, P. & Talkner, P. Nature Phys. 11, 108–110 (2015).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. Jarzynski, C. Annu. Rev. Cond. Matter Phys. 2, 329–351 (2011).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. An, S. et al. Nature Phys. 11, 193–199 (2015).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. Batalhao, T. B. et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 140601 (2014).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  11. Parrondo, J. M. R., Horowitz, J. M. & Sagawa, T. Nature Phys. 11, 131–139 (2015).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. Bennett, C. H. Int. J. Theor. Phys. 21, 905–940 (1982).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The author acknowledges financial support from the National Science Foundation (USA), under DMR-1206971, and the US Army Research Office under contract number W911NF-13-1-0390.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christopher Jarzynski.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Jarzynski, C. Diverse phenomena, common themes. Nature Phys 11, 105–107 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys3229

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys3229

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing