Equilibrium Regained: From Nonequilibrium Chaos to Statistical Mechanics
David A. Egolf
Far-from-equilibrium, spatially extended chaotic systems
have generally eluded analytical solution, leading researchers to consider theories based on a statistical rather than a detailed knowledge of the microscopic length scales. Building on the recent discovery of a separation of length scales between macroscopic behavior
and microscopic chaos, a simple far-from-equilibrium spatially extended
chaotic system has been studied computationally at intermediate,
coarse-grained scales. Equilibrium properties such as Gibbs
distributions and detailed balance are recovered at these scales, which
suggests that the macroscopic behavior of some far-from-equilibrium
systems might be understood in terms of equilibrium statistical
mechanics.
Center for Nonlinear Studies (MS B258), Theoretical Division and
Condensed Matter and Thermal Physics, Los Alamos National Laboratory,
Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA. E-mail: egolf{at}cnls.lanl.gov
