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The steepest-entropy-ascent quantum thermodynamic framework is used to investigate the effectiveness of multi-chain polyethyleneimine-methylenephosphonic acid in sequestering rare-earth ions (Eu$^{+3}$) from aqueous solutions. The framework applies a thermodynamic equation of motion to a discrete energy eigenstructure to model the binding kinetics of europium ions to reactive sites of the polymer chains. The energy eigenstructure is generated using a non-Markovian Monte Carlo model that estimates energy level degeneracies. The equation of motion is used to determine the occupation probability of each energy level, describing the unique path through thermodynamic state space by which the polymer system sequesters rare-earth ions from solution. A second Monte Carlo simulation is conducted to relate the kinetic path in state space to physical descriptors associated with the polymer, including the radius of gyration, tortuosity, and Eu-neighbor distribution functions. These descriptors are used to visualize the evolution of the polymer during the sequestration process. The fraction of sequestered Eu$^{+3}$ ions depends upon the total energy of the system, with lower energy resulting in higher sequestration. The kinetics of the overall sequestration are dependent on the steepest-entropy-ascent principle used by the equation of motion to generate a unique kinetic path from an initial non-equilibrium state., Comment: 23 pages, 12 figures

The steepest-entropy-ascent quantum thermodynamic (SEAQT) framework is utilized to study the effects of temperature on polymer brushes. The brushes are represented by a discrete energy spectrum and energy degeneracies obtained through the Replica-Exchange Wang-Landau algorithm. The SEAQT equation of motion is applied to the density of states to establish a unique kinetic path from an initial thermodynamic state to a stable equilibrium state. The kinetic path describes the brush's evolution in state space as it interacts with a thermal reservoir. The predicted occupation probabilities along the kinetic path are used to determine expected thermodynamic and structural properties. The polymer density profile of a polystyrene brush in cyclohexane solvent is predicted using the equation of motion, and it agrees qualitatively with experimental density profiles. The Flory-Huggins parameter chosen to describe brush-solvent interactions affects the solvent distribution in the brush but has minimal impact on the polymer density profile. Three types of non-equilibrium kinetic paths with differing amounts of entropy production are considered: a heating path, a cooling path, and a heating-cooling path. Properties such as tortuosity, radius of gyration, brush density, solvent density, and brush chain conformations are calculated for each path., Comment: 37 pages, 19 figures

The Replica Exchange Wang-Landau Method is used to estimate the energy landscape of a polymer composed of a simple hydrophobic and polar sequence using the HP protein model. Calculations of state transitions between the energy levels of the derived energy landscape are made using an equation of motion from the steepest-entropy-ascent quantum thermodynamic (SEAQT) framework. The SEAQT framework makes it possible to determine the unique kinetic paths from an arbitrary quasi-equilibrium or non-equilibrium initial state to stable equilibrium. Calculations performed with SEAQT require significantly reduced computational time versus comparable Monte Carlo simulations while providing otherwise unavailable thermodynamic and structural properties. Expected values for state averaged structural parameters are used to produce representative reconstructions of the calculated state-based evolution. Results show continuous transitions between states with no distinct folding phases. Changes in chain conformations during heating and cooling are more drastic along non-equilibrium paths than along quasi-equilibrium paths. In addition, SEAQT-derived kinetics are compared to experimentally derived intensity profiles describing the kinetics of the cytochrome c protein using Rouse dynamic relations.

The steepest-entropy-ascent quantum thermodynamic (SEAQT) framework was used to calculate the stability of a collection of point defects in 2D PtSe$_2$ and predict the kinetics with which defects rearrange during thermal annealing. The framework provides a non-equilibrium, ensemble-based framework with a self-consistent link between mechanics (both quantum and classical) and thermodynamics. It employs an equation of motion derived from the principle of steepest entropy ascent (maximum entropy production) to predict the time evolution of a set of occupation probabilities that define the states of a system undergoing a non-equilibrium process. The system is described by a degenerate energy landscape of eigenvalues, and the entropy is found from the occupation probabilities and the eigenlevel degeneracies. Scanning tunneling microscopy was used to identify the structure and distribution of point defects observed experimentally in a 2D PtSe$_2$ film. A catalog of observed defects included six unique point defects (vacancies and anti-site defects on Pt and Se sublattices) and twenty combinations of multiple point defects in close proximity. The defect energies were estimated with density functional theory (DFT), while the degeneracies, or density of states, for the 2D film with all possible combinations or arrangements of cataloged defects was constructed using a non-Markovian Monte-Carlo approach (i.e., the Replica-Exchange-Wang-Landau algorithm) with a q-state Potts model. The energy landscape and associated degeneracies were determined for a 2D PtSe$_2$ film two molecules thick and $30 \times 30$ unit cells in area (total of 5400 atoms). The SEAQT equation of motion was applied to the energy landscape to determine how an arbitrary density and arrangement of the six defect types evolve during annealing., Comment: 19 pages, 11 pdf and png figures, uses revtex4-2. This paper employs the steepest-entropy ascent (or maximum entropy production) principle to predict the migration kinetics and stable equilibrium arrangement of point defects in a two-dimensional material (PtSe2)

A Potts model and the Replica Exchange Wang-Landau algorithm are used to construct an energy landscape for a crystalline solid containing surfaces and grain boundaries. The energy landscape is applied to an equation of motion from the steepest-entropy-ascent quantum thermodynamic (SEAQT) framework to explore the kinetics of three distinct kinds of microstructural evolution: polycrystalline sintering, precipitate coarsening, and grain growth. The steepest entropy ascent postulate predicts unique kinetic paths for these non-equilibrium processes without needing any detailed information about the underlying physical mechanisms of the processes. A method is also proposed for associating the kinetic path in state space to a set of smoothly evolving microstructural descriptors. The SEAQT-predicted kinetics agree well with available experimental kinetics for ZrO2 sintering, Al3Li precipitate coarsening, and grain growth in nanocrystalline Pd. The computational cost associated with calculating the energy landscape needed by the approach is comparable to a Monte Carlo simulation. However, the subsequent kinetic calculations from the SEAQT equation of motion are quite modest and save considerable computational resources by obviating the need for averaging multiple kinetic Monte Carlo runs., Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures

Steepest-entropy-ascent quantum thermodynamics, or SEAQT, is a unified approach of quantum mechanics and thermodynamics that avoids many of the inconsistencies that can arise between the two theories. Given a set of energy levels, i.e., energy eigenstructure, accessible to a given physical system, SEAQT predicts the unique kinetic path from any initial non-equilibrium state to stable equilibrium by solving a master equation that directs the system along the path of steepest entropy ascent. There are no intrinsic limitations on the length and time scales the method can treat so it is well-suited for calculations where the dynamics over multiple spacial scales need to be taken into account within a single framework. In this paper, the theoretical framework and its advantages are described, and several applications are presented to illustrate the use of the SEAQT equation of motion and the construction of a simplified, reduced-order, energy eigenstructure., Comment: 18 pages

The kinetics of ordering and concurrent ordering and clustering is analyzed with an equation of motion initially developed to account for dissipative processes in quantum systems. A simplified energy eigenstructure, or pseudo-eigenstructure, is constructed from a static concentration wave method to describe the configuration-dependent energy for atomic ordering and clustering in a binary alloy. This pseudo-eigenstructure is used in conjunction with an equation of motion that follows steepest entropy ascent to calculate the kinetic path that leads to ordering and clustering in a series of hypothetical alloys. By adjusting the thermodynamic solution parameters, it is demonstrated that the model can predict the stable equilibrium state as well as the unique thermodynamic path and kinetics of continuous/discontinuous ordering and concurrent processes of simultaneous ordering and phase separation., Comment: 10 pages

The decomposition kinetics of a solid-solution into separate phases are analyzed with an equation of motion initially developed to account for dissipative processes in quantum systems. This equation and the steepest-entropy-ascent quantum thermodynamic framework of which it is a part make it possible to track kinetic processes in systems in non-equilibrium, while retaining the framework of classical equilibrium thermodynamics. The general equation of motion is particularized for the case of the decomposition of a binary alloy, and a solution model is used to build an approximate energy eigenstructure, or pseudo-eigenstructure, for the alloy system. This equation is then solved with the pseudo-eigenstructure to obtain a unique reaction path and the decomposition kinetics of the alloy. For a hypothetical solid-solution with a miscibility gap at low temperatures, the conditions under which this framework predicts a continuous transformation path (spinodal decomposition) or a discontinuous one (nucleation and growth) are demonstrated., Comment: 12 pages

The magnetization of body-centered cubic iron at low temperatures is calculated with the steepest-entropy-ascent quantum thermodynamics (SEAQT) framework. This framework assumes that a thermodynamic property in an isolated system traces the path through state space with the greatest entropy production. Magnetization is calculated from the expected value of a thermodynamic ensemble of quantized spin waves based on the Heisenberg spin model applied to an ensemble of coupled harmonic oscillators. A realistic energy landscape is obtained from a magnon dispersion relation calculated using spin-density-functional-theory. The equilibrium magnetization as well as the evolution of magnetization from a non-equilibrium state to equilibrium are calculated from the path of steepest entropy ascent determined from the SEAQT equation of motion in state space. The framework makes it possible to model the temperature- and time-dependence of magnetization without a detailed description of magnetic damping. The approach is also used to define intensive properties (temperature and magnetic field strength) that are fundamentally, i.e., canonically or grand canonically, valid for any non-equilibrium state. Given the assumed magnon dispersion relation, the SEAQT framework is used to calculate the equilibrium magnetization at different temperatures and external magnetic fields and the results are shown to closely agree with experiment for temperatures less than 500 K. The time-dependent evolution of magnetization from different initial states and interactions with a reservoir is also predicted., Comment: 11 pages

Steepest-entropy-ascent quantum thermodynamics (SEAQT) is an intriguing approach that describes equilibrium and dynamic processes in a self-consistent way. The applicability is limited to mainly gas phases because of a complex eigenstructure (eigenvalues and eigenfunctions) of solid or liquid phases. In this contribution, the SEAQT modeling is extended to a condensed phase by constructing a simplified eigenstructure (so-called pseudo-eigenstructure), and the applicability is demonstrated by calculating the thermal expansion of metallic silver in three cases: (a) at stable equilibrium, (b) along three irreversible paths from an initial nonequilibrium state to stable equilibrium, and (c) along an irreversible path between two stable equilibrium states. The SEAQT framework with an anharmonic pseudo-eigenstructure predicts reasonable values for equilibrium thermal expansion. For the irreversible cases considered, the SEAQT approach makes it possible to predict the time-dependence of lattice relaxations from the initial state to the final state., Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures