Experimental study of work exchange with a granular gas: the viewpoint of the Fluctuation Theorem

This article reports on an experimental study of the fluctuations of energy flux between a granular gas and a small driven harmonic oscillator. The DC-motor driving this system is used simultaneously as actuator and probe. The statistics of work fluctuations at controlled forcing, between the motor and the gas are examined from the viewpoint of the Fluctuation Theorem. A characteristic energy $E_c$ of the granular gas, is obtained from this relation between the probabilities of an event and its reversal.