Equilibrium statistical mechanics provides the microscopic foundations of thermodynamics, where the behavior of macroscopic systems can be described in terms of a small number of thermodynamic variables and state functions. For systems driven out of equilibrium, however, a similarly universal theoretical framework is still lacking, and developing such a description remains one of the central challenges of modern statistical physics. In particular, non-equilibrium systems on mesoscopic scales are strongly influenced by thermal fluctuations, which play a fundamental role in their dynamics, transport properties, and thermodynamics. Stochastic dynamics and thermodynamics are powerful frameworks for addressing these questions and for describing fluctuating systems far from equilibrium.

This project contributes to the theoretical development of stochastic thermodynamics and related areas of non-equilibrium statistical physics. The research focuses on generic mechanisms governing fluctuating and driven systems, including transport processes in mesoscopic systems, tracer dynamics, stochastic resetting, microscopic heat engines, and the thermodynamics of fluctuating systems. By combining ideas from stochastic processes, stochastic thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, the project aims to develop a broader conceptual understanding of fluctuations, dissipation, energy-conversion and irreversibility in systems operating far from equilibrium.