Entropy Production in Mesoscopic Stochastic Thermodynamics: Nonequilibrium Kinetic Cycles Driven by Chemical Potentials, Temperatures, and Mechanical Forces

Nonequilibrium thermodynamics (NET) investigates processes in systems out of global equilibrium. On a mesoscopic level, it provides a statistical dynamic description of various complex phenomena such as chemical reactions, ion transport, diffusion, thermochemical, thermomechanical and mechanochemical fluxes. In the present review, we introduce a mesoscopic stochastic formulation of NET by analyzing entropy production in several simple examples. The fundamental role of nonequilibrium steady-state cycle kinetics is emphasized. The statistical mechanics of Onsager's reciprocal relations in this context is elucidated. Chemomechanical, thermomechanical, and enzyme-catalyzed thermochemical energy transduction processes are discussed. It is argued that mesoscopic stochastic NET provides a rigorous mathematical basis of fundamental concepts needed for understanding complex processes in chemistry, physics and biology, and which is also relevant for nanoscale technological advances.