Abstract
Probability distributions of the magnetic work are computed for the 2D Ising model by means of Monte Carlo simulations. The system is first prepared at equilibrium for three temperatures below, at and above the critical point. A magnetic field is then applied and grown linearly at different rates. Probability distributions of the work are stored and free energy differences computed using the Jarzynski equality. The computed free energies and the corresponding values of the dissipated work are reproduced with simple models and the critical exponent δ is estimated in a usual manner. No failure of the Jarzynski equality was observed but accurate results require prohibitive computational efforts at large magnetic fields.