title: Carnot process with a single particle.
abstract: We determine the statistics of work in isothermal volume changes of a classical ideal gas consisting of a single particle. Combining our results with the findings of Lua and Grosberg [J. Chem. Phys. B 109, 6805 (2005)] on adiabatic expansions and compressions we then analyze the joint probability distribution of heat and work for a microscopic, nonequilibrium Carnot cycle. In the quasistatic limit we recover Carnot efficiency, however, combined with nontrivial distributions of work and heat. With increasing piston speed the efficiency decreases. The efficiency at maximum power stays within recently derived bounds.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Physik, Carl-von-Ossietzky Universität, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany. johannes.hoppenau@uni-oldenburg.de
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hoppenau
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Niemann
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Engel