Controlling transitions between nonequilibrium states through active bath engineering
Abstract
We develop a family of control protocols for finite-time transitions between active nonequilibrium steady states using the noise-color (correlation rate) as the sole control parameter. By reverse-engineering the second moment dynamics of an active Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process, we determine the time-dependent correlation rate required to realize a prescribed evolution of the system's state. We experimentally implement these protocols with a micrometer-sized optically trapped particle coupled to an engineered active bath, demonstrating transitions substantially faster than the natural relaxation while keeping the confining potential, noise amplitude, and temperature fixed. Our approach extends engineered swift-equilibration methods to far-from-equilibrium steady states by directly controlling the temporal correlations of an active environment. We show how physical constraints impose a speed limit on finite-time transitions, while the freedom in choosing the prescribed system evolution can be exploited to eliminate control discontinuities, minimize the admissible transition time, or optimize a thermodynamic cost.
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BibTeX
@misc{boriskovsky2026controlling,
title = {{Controlling transitions between nonequilibrium states through active bath engineering}},
author = {Dima Boriskovsky and Salambô Dago and Cyriaque Genet and Rémi Goerlich and Vincent Hardel and Paul-Antoine Hervieux and Harry L. F. Ip and Giovanni Manfredi and Laurent Mertz},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.11831},
eprint = {2610.11831},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.11831},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Controlling transitions between nonequilibrium states through active bath engineering
AU - Dima Boriskovsky
AU - Salambô Dago
AU - Cyriaque Genet
AU - Rémi Goerlich
AU - Vincent Hardel
AU - Paul-Antoine Hervieux
AU - Harry L. F. Ip
AU - Giovanni Manfredi
AU - Laurent Mertz
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/08
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.11831
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.11831
AB - We develop a family of control protocols for finite-time transitions between active nonequilibrium steady states using the noise-color (correlation rate) as the sole control parameter. By reverse-engineering the second moment dynamics of an active Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process, we determine the time-dependent correlation rate required to realize a prescribed evolution of the system's state. We experimentally implement these protocols with a micrometer-sized optically trapped particle coupled to an engineered active bath, demonstrating transitions substantially faster than the natural relaxation while keeping the confining potential, noise amplitude, and temperature fixed. Our approach extends engineered swift-equilibration methods to far-from-equilibrium steady states by directly controlling the temporal correlations of an active environment. We show how physical constraints impose a speed limit on finite-time transitions, while the freedom in choosing the prescribed system evolution can be exploited to eliminate control discontinuities, minimize the admissible transition time, or optimize a thermodynamic cost.
ER -