Speaker : Benjamin Besga, ILM Lyon

Abstract : The aim of stochastic thermodynamics is to study small non-equilibrium systems subject to thermal fluctuations. Some results from this field will be illustrated using experiments carried out on opto-mechanical systems, mainly colloidal particles in an optical trap. Using non-equilibrium statistical physics will see how we can accelerate the natural dynamics of a system, shorten the mean first passage time on a target, or measure the forces acting on a non-equilibrium probe. Finally, we’ll ask how we can interrogate the quantum limit of these results by looking at the opto-mechanical coupling of a self assembled supercrystal of quantum dots in an optical trap.