Irreversibility as divergence from equilibrium
Statistical Mechanics
2025-10-23 v6
Abstract
The entropy production is commonly interpreted as measuring the distance from equilibrium. However, this explanation lacks a rigorous description due to the absence of a natural equilibrium measure. The present analysis formalizes this interpretation by expressing the entropy production of a Markov system as a divergence with respect to particular equilibrium dynamics. These equilibrium dynamics correspond to the closest reversible systems in the information-theoretic sense. This result yields novel links between nonequilibrium thermodynamics and information geometry.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2404.01978,
title = {Irreversibility as divergence from equilibrium},
author = {David Andrieux},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2404.01978},
year = {2025}
}