Related papers: When Does a Boltzmannian Equilibrium Exist?
In Boltzmannian statistical mechanics macro-states supervene on micro-states. This leads to a partitioning of the state space of a system into regions of macroscopically indistinguishable micro-states. The largest of these regions is…
Equilibrium is a central concept of statistical mechanics. In previous work we introduced the notions of a Boltzmannian alpha-epsilon-equilibrium and a Boltzmannian gamma-varepsilon-equilibrium (Werndl and Frigg 2015a, 2015b). This was done…
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…
Boltzmannian statistical mechanics partitions the phase space of a system into macro-regions, and the largest of these is identified with equilibrium. What justifies this identification? Common answers focus on Boltzmann's combinatorial…
This paper analyzes the ergodic hypothesis in the context of Boltzmann's late work in statistical mechanics, where Boltzmann lays the foundations for what is today known as the typicality account. I argue that, based on the concepts of…
A century ago, the foundations of equilibrium statistical mechanics were laid. For a system in equilibrium with a thermal bath, much is understood through the Boltzmann factor, exp{-H[C]/kT}, for the probability of finding the system in any…
We examine the question of whether the formal expressions of equilibrium statistical mechanics can be applied to time independent non-dissipative systems that are not in true thermodynamic equilibrium and are nonergodic. By assuming the…
This paper reviews various applications of the theory of smooth dynamical systems to conceptual problems of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics. We adopt a new point of view which has emerged progressively in recent years, and which takes…
We use a Hamiltonian dynamics to discuss the statistical mechanics of long-lasting quasi-stationary states particularly relevant for long-range interacting systems. Despite the presence of an anomalous single-particle velocity distribution,…
Boltzmann provided a scenario to explain why individual macroscopic systems composed of a large number $N$ of microscopic constituents are inevitably (i.e., with overwhelming probability) observed to approach a unique macroscopic state of…
The mathematical physics of mechanical systems in thermal equilibrium is a well studied, and relatively easy, subject, because the Gibbs distribution is in general an adequate guess for the equilibrium state. On the other hand, the…
Equilibrium is a rather ideal situation, the exception rather than the rule in Nature. Whenever the external or internal parameters of a physical system are varied its subsequent relaxation to equilibrium may be either impossible or take…
We propose a new formulation of the fluctuating lattice Boltzmann equation that is consistent with both equilibrium statististical mechanics and fluctuating hydrodynamics. The formalism is based on a generalized lattice-gas model, with each…
We search for steady states in a class of fluctuating and driven physical systems that exhibit sustained currents. We find that the physical concept of a steady state, well known for systems at equilibrium, must be generalised to describe…
Quasistationary states are long-lived nonequilibrium states, observed in some systems with long-range interactions under deterministic Hamiltonian evolution. These intriguing non-Boltzmann states relax to equilibrium over times which…
Why do gases reach equilibrium when left to themselves? The canonical answer, originally proffered by Boltzmann, is that the systems have to be ergodic. This answer is now widely regarded as flawed. We argue that some of the main…
There are three levels of description in classical statistical mechanics, the microscopic/dynamic, the macroscopic/statistical and the thermodynamic. At one end there is a well-used concept of equilibrium in thermodynamics and at the other…
Statistical mechanics is one of the most comprehensive theories in physics. From a boiling pot of water to the complex dynamics of quantum many-body systems it provides a successful connection between the microscopic dynamics of atoms and…
We consider an isolated system in an arbitrary state and provide a general formulation using first principles for an additive and non-negative statistical quantity that is shown to reproduce the equilibrium thermodynamic entropy of the…
Bridging equilibrium and nonequilibrium statistical physics attracts sustained interest. Hallmarks of nonequilibrium systems include a breakdown of detailed balance, and an absence of a priori potential function corresponding to the…