Optimal protocols out of equilibrium: from work extraction to efficient stochastic resetting
Kristian Olsen (Düsseldorf University)
As experimental techniques increasingly enable precise manipulation at the microscale, extending thermodynamic principles to this regime becomes essential. Stochastic thermodynamics provides a powerful framework for understanding small-scale systems, where fluctuations and noise play a dominant role. A key challenge is designing optimal control strategies that minimize thermodynamic cost while guiding a system between desired states. While much progress has been made in the control of passive colloids, less is known about systems driven from equilibrium.
In this talk, I will discuss optimal control strategies for transporting a particle between two locations under arbitrary time-dependent driving forces. These forces may arise from external fields, such as fluid flows or electromagnetic forces, or internal mechanisms, such as self-propulsion in active matter systems. I will present optimal protocols that incorporate information about the non-equilibrium driving forces, demonstrating how such information can enhance protocol efficiency and even result in net work extraction. Two examples are considered; i) a passive colloid experiencing periodic forces, which acts as an automatic information engine, and ii) optimal control of an active particle with a perspective towards stochastic resetting.