Related Experiment Videos
From Hamiltonian chaos to Maxwell's Demon.
1Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, 251 Mercer St., New York, New York 10012Department of Physics, 2-4 Washington Pl., New York, New York 10003.
Chaos (Woodbury, N.Y.)
|December 1, 1995
Summary
Maxwell's Demon (MD) operations are possible in chaotic systems. Hamiltonian chaos allows creating non-equilibrium states without work, challenging statistical mechanics foundations.
Area of Science:
- Statistical Mechanics
- Dynamical Systems Theory
- Chaos Theory
Background:
- The existence of Maxwell's Demon (MD) is a long-standing problem in statistical mechanics.
- Dynamical chaos in Hamiltonian systems exhibits unique properties like trajectory stickiness and anomalous transport.
Purpose of the Study:
- To formulate the problem of Maxwell's Demon in systems exhibiting dynamical chaos.
- To investigate if properties of Hamiltonian chaos can be leveraged to mimic MD operations.
Main Methods:
- Formulation of the MD problem for systems with dynamical chaos.
- Analysis of trajectory stickiness and Poincare recurrence time distributions.
- Numerical demonstration of creating non-equilibrium states.
Main Results:
- Hamiltonian chaos properties, including trajectory stickiness and anomalous transport, enable MD-like operations.
- A numerical example shows the creation of a thermodynamically non-equilibrium state without work expenditure.
- This non-equilibrium state can be sustained indefinitely between contacted phase space domains.
Conclusions:
- The existence of MD is demonstrated in chaotic systems, challenging traditional thermodynamic principles.
- Hamiltonian chaos provides a mechanism for establishing non-equilibrium states without external work.
- This research offers new insights into chaos theory and its foundational role in statistical mechanics.