Entropy Production in Driven Spatially Extended Systems

Christian Maes

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Entropy Production in Driven Spatially Extended Systems

Christian Maes

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Abstract

This is a short review of the statistical mechanical definition of entropy production for systems composed of a large number of interacting components. Emphasis is on open systems driven away from equilibrium where the entropy production can be identified with a logarithmic ratio of microstate multiplicities of the original macrostate with respect to the time-reversed state. A special role is taken by Gibbs measures for the stationary spatio-temporal distribution of trajectories. The mean entropy production is always non-negative and it is zero only when the system is in equilibrium. The fluctuations of the entropy production satisfy a (Gallavotti-Cohen)symmetry first observed and then derived for the phase space contraction rate in a class of strongly chaotic dynamical systems. Aspects of the general framework are illustrated via a bulk driven diffusive lattice gas.

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Christian Maes. 2001-01-05. Entropy Production in Driven Spatially Extended Systems. https://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0101064

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