Nonequilibrium systems: hard disks and harmonic oscillators near and far from equilibrium

William Graham Hoover1, Carol Griswold Hoover1 and Julien Clinton Sprott2

1Ruby Valley Research Institute, Ruby Valley, NV, USA
2Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, WI, USA

Received 26 July 2015
Accepted 22 August 2015

ABSTRACT

We relate progress in statistical mechanics, both at and far from equilibrium, to advances in the theory of dynamical systems. We consider computer simulations of time-reversible deterministic chaos in small systems with three- and four-dimensional phase spaces. These models provide us with a basis for understanding equilibration and thermodynamic irreversibility in terms of Lyapunov instability, fractal distributions and thermal constraints.

Ref: W. G. Hoover, C. G. Hoover, and J. C. Sprott, Molecular Simulation 42, 1300-1316 (2016)

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