Macroscopic fluctuation theory
Statistical Mechanics
2015-12-18 v2
Abstract
Stationary non-equilibrium states describe steady flows through macroscopic systems. Although they represent the simplest generalization of equilibrium states, they exhibit a variety of new phenomena. Within a statistical mechanics approach, these states have been the subject of several theoretical investigations, both analytic and numerical. The macroscopic fluctuation theory, based on a formula for the probability of joint space-time fluctuations of thermodynamic variables and currents, provides a unified macroscopic treatment of such states for driven diffusive systems. We give a detailed review of this theory including its main predictions and most relevant applications.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1404.6466,
title = {Macroscopic fluctuation theory},
author = {Lorenzo Bertini and Alberto De Sole and Davide Gabrielli and Giovanni Jona-Lasinio and Claudio Landim},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1404.6466},
year = {2015}
}
Comments
Review article. Revised extended version