Stochastic thermodynamics and hierarchy of fluctuation theorems with multiple reservoirs

Abstract

We reformulate stochastic thermodynamics in terms of noise realizations for Langevin systems in contact with multiple reservoirs and investigate the structure of the second laws of thermodynamics. We derive a hierarchy of fluctuation theorems when one degree of freedom of the system is affected by multiple reservoirs simultaneously, that is, when noise-mixing occurs. These theorems and the associated second laws of thermodynamics put stricter bounds on the thermodynamics of Langevin systems. We apply our results to a stochastic machine in noise-mixing environments and demonstrate that our new bounds play a crucial role in determining the potential function and performance of the machine.