Related papers: Entropy, Probability and Dynamics
The primordial confrontation underlying the existence of our universe can be conceived as the battle between entropy and complexity. The law of ever-increasing entropy (Boltzmann H-theorem) evokes an irreversible, one-directional evolution…
The issue of the thermodynamics of a system of distinguishable particles is discussed in this paper. In constructing the statistical mechanics of distinguishable particles from the definition of Boltzmann entropy, it is found that the…
Introducing the Boltzmann distribution very early in a statistical thermodynamics course (in the spirit of Feynmann) has many didactic advantages, in particular that of easily deriving the Gibbs entropy formula. In this note, a short…
A numerical experiment of ideal stochastic motion of a particle subject to conservative forces and Gaussian noise reveals that the path probability depends exponentially on action. This distribution implies a fundamental principle…
Boltzmann's principle is used to select the "most probable" realization (macrostate) of an isolated or closed thermodynamic system, containing a small number of particles ($N \llsp \infty$), for both classical and quantum statistics. The…
In ordinary statistical mechanics the Boltzmann-Shannon entropy is related to the Maxwell-Bolzmann distribution $p_i$ by means of a twofold link. The first link is differential and is offered by the Jaynes Maximum Entropy Principle. The…
This paper is an introduction to the von Neumann entropy in a historic approach. Von Neumann's gedanken experiment is repeated, which led him to the formula of thermodynamic entropy of a statistical operator. In the analysis of his ideas we…
A statistical thermodynamic approach of moving particles forming an elastic body is presented which leads to reveal molecular-mechanical properties of classical and nonextensive dynamical systems. We derive the Boltzmann-Gibbs (BG) entropy…
Although its practical efficiency is unquestionable, it is well known that thermodynamics presents conceptual difficulties from the theoretical point of view. It is shown that the problem comes from an imperfect compatibility between the…
These expository notes propose to follow, across fields, some aspects of the concept of entropy. Starting from the work of Boltzmann in the kinetic theory of gases, various universes are visited, including Markov processes and their…
This work reviews the understanding of the direction of time introduced by Hans Reichenbach, including the fundamental relation of the perceived flow of time to the second law of thermodynamics (i.e. the Boltzmann time hypothesis), and the…
In this paper, I expand Shannon's definition of entropy into a new form of entropy that allows integration of information from different random events. Shannon's notion of entropy is a special case of my more general definition of entropy.…
Entropic dynamics, a program that aims at deriving the laws of physics from standard probabilistic and entropic rules for processing information, is developed further. We calculate the probability for an arbitrary path followed by a system…
Experimental and theoretical results about entropy limits for macroscopic and single-particle systems are reviewed. It is clarified when it is possible to speak about a quantum of entropy, given by the Boltzmann constant k, and about a…
The Boltzmann and Gibbs approaches to statistical mechanics have very different definitions of equilibrium and entropy. The problems associated with this are discussed and it is suggested that they can be resolved, to produce a version of…
Starting from the BBGKY hierarchy, describing the kinetics of nonlinear particle system, we obtain the relevant entropy and stationary distribution function. Subsequently, by employing the Lorentz transformations we propose the relativistic…
Most attempts to argue for the second law of thermodynamics fail because (1) they use the unviable frequency theory of probability and (2) they do not explain why the arrow of time seen in experiments is aligned with the thermodynamic arrow…
Information theory on a time-discrete setting in the framework of time series analysis is generalized to the time-continuous case. Considerations of the Roessler and Lorenz dynamics as well as the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process yield for…
In 1924, S. N. Bose proposed (i) a new counting method for photons and (ii) a probabilistic law of microscopic matter-radiation interactions, treating emission and absorption as two aspects of a single, field-dependent process. While…
We summarize the papers published by Einstein in the Annalen der Physik in the years 1902-04 on the derivation of the properties of thermal equilibrium on the basis of the mechanical equations of motion and of the calculus of probabilities.…