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Towards a nonequilibrium thermodynamics: a self-contained macroscopic description of driven diffusive systems
- Source :
- J Stat Phys (2009) 135: 857-872
- Publication Year :
- 2008
-
Abstract
- In this paper we present a self-contained macroscopic description of diffusive systems interacting with boundary reservoirs and under the action of external fields. The approach is based on simple postulates which are suggested by a wide class of microscopic stochastic models where they are satisfied. The description however does not refer in any way to an underlying microscopic dynamics: the only input required are transport coefficients as functions of thermodynamic variables, which are experimentally accessible. The basic postulates are local equilibrium which allows a hydrodynamic description of the evolution, the Einstein relation among the transport coefficients, and a variational principle defining the out of equilibrium free energy. Associated to the variational principle there is a Hamilton-Jacobi equation satisfied by the free energy, very useful for concrete calculations. Correlations over a macroscopic scale are, in our scheme, a generic property of nonequilibrium states. Correlation functions of any order can be calculated from the free energy functional which is generically a non local functional of thermodynamic variables. Special attention is given to the notion of equilibrium state from the standpoint of nonequilibrium.<br />Comment: 21 pages
- Subjects :
- Condensed Matter - Statistical Mechanics
Subjects
Details
- Database :
- arXiv
- Journal :
- J Stat Phys (2009) 135: 857-872
- Publication Type :
- Report
- Accession number :
- edsarx.0807.4457
- Document Type :
- Working Paper
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10955-008-9670-4