Jarzynski: a nonequilibrium equality for free-energy differences

What changed

Derived an equality connecting an equilibrium free-energy difference to an exponential average of work measured over finite-time nonequilibrium switching processes.

Scientific scope

The record is the exact 1997 Physical Review Letters paper. Crooks’s fluctuation theorem, later experimental tests, quantum generalizations and computational estimators remain separate.

Evidence

The linked sources identify this contribution and its scope. WRS has not independently reconstructed the scientific claims. The record is the exact 1997 Physical Review Letters paper. Crooks’s fluctuation theorem, later experimental tests, quantum generalizations and computational estimators remain separate.

Contributors

• Christopher Jarzynski · SCIENCE: Named source author of the scoped work; individual effort shares are not measured.

• APS record for the Jarzynski equality
• Crossref record for the Jarzynski equality

Provisional WRS assessment, edition 2026-10-16.1. Independent expert calibration is pending. This grade does not certify correctness or assign ownership.

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