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Symmetries in fluctuations far from equilibrium.

Pablo I Hurtado¹, Carlos Pérez-Espigares, Jesús J del Pozo

¹Departamento de Electromagnetismo y Física de la Materia, and Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional, Universidad de Granada, Granada 18071, Spain. phurtado@onsager.ugr.es

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

|April 16, 2011

Summary

New fluctuation relations reveal deep symmetries in nonequilibrium systems. By analyzing optimal paths, scientists uncovered general principles governing fluctuations, advancing our understanding of irreversible processes and complex physics.

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Area of Science:

Physics
Statistical Mechanics
Non-equilibrium Thermodynamics

Background:

Fluctuations reflect microscopic behavior at the macroscopic level.
Understanding fluctuations is crucial for irreversibility and non-equilibrium physics.
Systems follow optimal paths in phase space to sustain fluctuations.

Purpose of the Study:

Unveil new, general fluctuation relations valid far from equilibrium.
Explore the role of symmetry principles in fluctuations.
Deepen the understanding of non-equilibrium physics.

Main Methods:

Demanding invariance of optimal paths under symmetry transformations.
Studying symmetries of current distribution out of equilibrium.
Deriving an isometric fluctuation relation based on time-reversibility.

Main Results:

New general fluctuation relations are unveiled, applicable arbitrarily far from equilibrium.
An isometric fluctuation relation is derived, linking probabilities of current fluctuations.
The derived relation extends the Gallavotti-Cohen fluctuation theorem and reveals new symmetries.

Conclusions:

Symmetry principles applied to optimal paths offer a new route to understanding non-equilibrium physics.
The discovered symmetries impose remarkable hierarchies on current cumulants and response coefficients.
The concept of symmetry in fluctuations has broad implications across diverse scientific fields.