Topics in thermodynamics

Throughout the years a variety of studies has been made on timely items in diverse fields of thermodynamics:
limits of the adiabatic theorem [P72];
improved heat engines [L37];
violation of Onsager relations in a system with timescale separation [L36];
molecular layering on a fluid substrate [L17];
flux creep in high-temperature superconductors [L13];
quasi-crystalline XY-chains [L3], [C5];
exact solutions of the Boltzmann equation [P2];
unmasking Maxwell's demon [C23];
a comment on "Experimental demonstration of violations of the second law .."
[L47].

[P72] Armen E. Allahverdyan and Theo M. Nieuwenhuizen,
Minimal Work Principle and its Limits for Classical Systems,
Phys. Rev. E 75, 051124 (2007) (5 pages).

[L37] A.E. Allahverdyan and Th.M. N., Optimizing the classical heat engine, Phys. Rev. Lett. 85 (2000) 232-235

[L36] A.E. Allahverdyan and Th.M. N., Entropy production, energy dissipation and violation of Onsager relations in the steady adiabatic state, Phys. Rev. E 62 (2000) 845-849

[L17] D. Bonn, G.H. Wegdam, H. Kellay, and Th.M. N., Molecular layering on a fluid substrate, Europhys. Lett. 20 (1992) 235

[L13] Th.M. N. and J. Pankert, Thermally activated flux-creep in high-temperature superconductors: a stochastic model, Europhys. Lett. 11 (1990) 457-462

[L3] J.M. Luck and Th.M. N., A soluble quasi-crystalline magnetic model: the XY quantum spin chain, Europhys. Lett. 2 (1986) 257-266

[P2] E.M. Hendriks and Th.M. N., Solution to the nonlinear Boltzmann equation for Maxwell models for nonisotropic initial condions, J. Stat. Phys. 29 (1983) 591-615

[C23] Theo M. N. and Armen E. Allahverdyan, Unmasking Maxwell's Demon, in: Quantum Limits to the Second Law, AIP Conf. Proc. Vol. 643 (2002), pp. 436-441

[C5] Th.M. N., The quasi-crystalline quantum spin 1/2 XY-chain, Journal de Physique Colloque C3, Conference Proceedings Supplement to nr. 7, (1986) pp 211-216

[L47] Theo M. N. and Armen E. Allahverdyan, Comment on ``Experimental demonstration of violations of the second law of thermodynamics for small systems and short timescales'', cond-mat/0207587