Strong coupling thermodynamics and stochastic thermodynamics from the unifying perspective of time-scale separation

Abstract

Assuming time-scale separation, a simple and unified theory of thermodynamics and stochastic thermodynamics is constructed for small classical systems strongly interacting with their environments in a controllable fashion. The total Hamiltonian is decomposed into a bath part and a system part, the latter being the Hamiltonian of mean force. Both the conditional equilibrium of the bath and the reduced equilibrium of the system are described by canonical ensemble theories with respect to their own Hamiltonians. The bath free energy is independent of the system variables and the control parameter. Furthermore, the weak coupling theory of stochastic thermodynamics becomes applicable almost verbatim, even if the interaction and correlation between the system and its environment are strong and varied externally. We further discuss a simple scenario where the present theory fits better with the common intuition about system entropy and heat.