Related papers: Time-(ir)reversibility in active matter: from micr…
The question of thermalisation in closed quantum many-body systems has received a lot of attention in the past few years. An intimately related question is whether a closed quantum system shows irreversible dynamics. However,…
The conditions under which stochastic systems of infinitely many interacting particles can maintain sufficient spatial order to move coherently along a time-periodic orbit, thereby breaking the time-translation invariance of the underlying…
Microreversibility constrains the fluctuations of the nonequilibrium currents that cross an open system. This can be seen from the so-called fluctuation relations, which are a direct consequence of microreversibility. Indeed, the latter are…
The contradiction of micro-reversibility and macro-irreversibility is an old problem in statistical mechanics. This article argues that irreversibility is present even at the micro level because of the mechanical-electromagnetic…
Scientists continue to wrestle with the enigma of time. Is time a dynamic or a fundamental property of spacetime? Why does it have an arrow pointing from past to future? Why are physical laws time-symmetric in a universe with broken…
This article traces the development of fluctuation theory and its deep connection to irreversibility, from equilibrium to near-equilibrium, and finally to far-from-equilibrium systems. Classical fluctuation theorems, which capture the…
The irreversible turbulent energy cascade epitomizes strongly non-equilibrium systems. At the level of single fluid particles, time irreversibility is revealed by the asymmetry of the rate of kinetic energy change, the Lagrangian power,…
It is one of the most important and long-standing issues of physics to derive the irreversibility out of a time-reversal symmetric equation of motion. The present paper considers the breaking of the time-reversal symmetry in open quantum…
Active matter systems encompass both natural and artificially created systems consisting of numerous active particles. These particles actively consume energy to propel themselves or exert mechanical forces, leading to intricate behaviors…
In three-dimensional turbulent flows, the flux of energy from large to small scales breaks time symmetry. We show here that this irreversibility can be quantified by following the relative motion of several Lagrangian tracers. We find by…
The dynamics of time-reversible systems are statistically indistinguishable when observed forward or backward in time. A rich literature of statistical methods to distinguish irreversible dynamics from the reversible dynamics of linear,…
It is a remarkable fact that all processes occurring in the observable Universe are irreversible, whereas the equations through which the fundamental laws of physics are formulated are invariant under time reversal. The emergence of…
The basic equations of physics involve a time variable t and are invariant under the transformation $t goes to -t$. This invariance at first sight appears to impose time reversibility as a principle of physics, in conflict with…
This article aims at revisiting, with the aid of simple and neat numerical examples, some of the basic features of macroscopic irreversibility, and, thus, of the mechanical foundation of the second principle of thermodynamics as drawn by…
Abstracting an effective theory from a complicated process is central to the study of complexity. Even when the underlying mechanisms are understood, or at least measurable, the presence of dissipation and irreversibility in biological,…
In 1979 Penrose hypothesized that the arrows of time are explained by the hypothesis that the fundamental laws are time irreversible. That is, our reversible laws, such as the standard model and general relativity are effective, and emerge…
While the microscopic laws of physics are often symmetric under time reversal, most natural processes that we observe are not. The emergent asymmetry between typical and time-reversed processes is referred to as the arrow of time. In…
Time reversal of waves has been successfully used in communications, sensing and imaging for decades. The application in underwater acoustic communications is of our special interest, as it puts together a reversible process (allowing a…
The fluctuation relations, which characterize irreversible processes in Nature, are among the most important results in non-equilibrium physics. In short, these relations say that it is exponentially unlikely for us to observe a…
Molecular Dynamics and Statistical Mechanics make possible a particle-based understanding of Thermodynamics and Hydrodynamics, including the fascinating Loschmidt contradiction between time-reversible atomistic mechanics and the…