Introducing one-shot work into fluctuation relations

Abstract

Two approaches to small-scale and quantum thermodynamics are fluctuation relations and one-shot statistical mechanics. Fluctuation relations (such as Crooks' theorem and Jarzynski's equality) relate nonequilibrium behaviors to equilibrium quantities such as free energy. One-shot statistical mechanics involves statements about every run of an experiment, not just about averages over trials. We investigate the relation between the two approaches. We show that both approaches feature the same notions of work and the same notions of probability distributions over possible work values. The two approaches are alternative toolkits with which to analyze these distributions. To combine the toolkits, we show how one-shot work quantities can be defined and bounded in contexts governed by Crooks' theorem. These bounds provide a new bridge from one-shot theory to experiments originally designed for testing fluctuation theorems.