The Fluctuation Theorem for Stochastic Systems

Debra J. Searles, Denis J. Evans

Published 1999-01-25, updated 1999-04-20Version 2

The Fluctuation Theorem describes the probability ratio of observing trajectories that satisfy or violate the second law of thermodynamics. It has been proved in a number of different ways for thermostatted deterministic nonequilibrium systems. In the present paper we show that the Fluctuation Theorem is also valid for a class of stochastic nonequilibrium systems. The Theorem is therefore not reliant on the reversibility or the determinism of the underlying dynamics. Numerical tests verify the theoretical result.