Non-dissipative effects in nonequilibrium systems

Christian Maes

Published 2016-03-16Version 1

Time-symmetric kinetic quantities constitute the non-dissipative part of nonequilibrium physics. That frenetic contribution counts among features of nonequilibrium that have traditionally not been much included in statistical mechanics. Yet it is crucial in fluctuation and response theory to complement the entropic component. Frenesy refers to a measure of volatility or of excess dynamical activity defined on system trajectories corresponding to a given reduced description. Its properties can be linked to general localization effects such as the presence of negative differential conductivity, of jamming or glassy behavior or of the slowing down of thermalization. Their recurrence in theoretical considerations invites a more operational understanding and statistical forces outside equilibrium appear to provide such a frenometry.