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arXiv · 0708.2953

Equilibrium-like behavior in far-from-equilibrium chemical reaction networks

David K. Lubensky
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Abstract

In an equilibrium chemical reaction mixture, the number of molecules present obeys a Poisson distribution. We ask when the same is true of the steady state of a nonequilibrium reaction network and obtain an essentially complete answer. In particular, we show that networks with certain topological features must have a Poisson distribution, whatever the reaction rates. Such driven systems also obey an analog of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. Our results may be relevant to biological systems and to the larger question of how equilibrium concepts might apply to nonequilibrium systems.

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BibTeXRIS

David K. Lubensky. 2007-08-22. Equilibrium-like behavior in far-from-equilibrium chemical reaction networks. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.81.060102

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