title: Experimental test of the fluctuation theorem for a driven two-level system with time-dependent rates.
abstract: A single defect center in diamond periodically excited by a laser is shown to provide a simple realization for a system obeying a fluctuation theorem for nonthermal noise. The distribution of these fluctuations is distinctly non-Gaussian, which has also been verified by numerical calculation. For driving protocols symmetric under time reversal a more restricted form of the theorem holds, which is also known from entropy fluctuations caused by thermal noise.
authors.affiliation: 3 Physikalisches Institut, Universität Stuttgart, 70550 Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schuler
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Speck
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tietz
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wrachtrup
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Seifert