Invited talk by S. Manikandan at the 14th Nordic Workshop on Statistical Physics, Nordita, 5 March 2025

Recent advances in nonequilibrium physics allow extracting thermodynamic quantities, such as entropy production, directly from dynamical information in microscopic movies. (Image by S. Manikandan.)
Localizing entropy production in non-equilibrium processes
Sreekanth Manikandan
Date: 5 Mar 2025
Time: 14:45
Place: Nordita
Part of the 14th Nordic Workshop on Statistical Physics

Quantifying the spatiotemporal forces, affinities, and dissipative costs of cellular-scale non-equilibrium processes from experimental data and localizing it in space and time remain a significant open challenge. Here, I explore how principles from stochastic thermodynamics, combined with machine learning techniques, offer a promising approach to addressing this issue. I will present preliminary results from experiments on fluctuating cell membranes and simulations of non-equilibrium systems in stationary and time-dependently driven states. These studies reveal potential strategies for localizing entropy production in experimental biophysical contexts while also highlighting key challenges and limitations that must be addressed.