No Arabic abstract
This paper provides an introduction to some stochastic models of lattice gases out of equilibrium and a discussion of results of various kinds obtained in recent years. Although these models are different in their microscopic features, a unified picture is emerging at the macroscopic level, applicable, in our view, to real phenomena where diffusion is the dominating physical mechanism. We rely mainly on an approach developed by the authors based on the study of dynamical large fluctuations in stationary states of open systems. The outcome of this approach is a theory connecting the non equilibrium thermodynamics to the transport coefficients via a variational principle. This leads ultimately to a functional derivative equation of Hamilton-Jacobi type for the non equilibrium free energy in which local thermodynamic variables are the independent arguments. In the first part of the paper we give a detailed introduction to the microscopic dynamics considered, while the second part, devoted to the macroscopic properties, illustrates many consequences of the Hamilton-Jacobi equation. In both parts several novelties are included.
Systems with long-range interactions display a short-time relaxation towards Quasi Stationary States (QSSs) whose lifetime increases with system size. The application of Lynden-Bells theory of violent relaxation to the Hamiltonian Mean Field model leads to the prediction of out-of-equilibrium first and second order phase transitions between homogeneous (zero magnetization) and inhomogeneous (non-zero magnetization) QSSs, as well as an interesting phenomenon of phase re-entrances. We compare these theoretical predictions with direct $N$-body numerical simulations. We confirm the existence of phase re-entrance in the typical parameter range predicted from Lynden-Bells theory, but also show that the picture is more complicated than initially thought. In particular, we exhibit the existence of secondary re-entrant phases: we find un-magnetized states in the theoretically magnetized region as well as persisting magnetized states in the theoretically unmagnetized region.
One particle in a classical perfect gas is driven out of equilibrium by changing its mass over a short time interval. The work done on the driven particle depends on its collisions with the other particles in the gas. This model thus provides an example of a non-equilibrium process in a system (the driven particle) coupled to an environment (the rest of the gas). We calculate the work done on the driven particle and compare the results to Jarzynskis equality relating a non-equilibrium work process to an equilibrium free-energy difference. The results for this model are generalised to the case of a system that is driven in one degree of freedom while interacting with the environment through other degrees of freedom.
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 very long times. From the point of view of fundamental physics no generic principle such as the ones of thermodynamics allows us to fully understand their behaviour. The alternative is to treat each case separately. It is illusionary to attempt to give, at least at this stage, a complete description of all non-equilibrium situations. Still, one can try to identify and characterise some concrete but still general features of a class of out of equilibrium problems - yet to be identified - and search for a unified description of these. In this report I briefly describe the behaviour and theory of a set of non-equilibrium systems and I try to highlight common features and some general laws that have emerged in recent years.
In this review we present some of the work done in India in the area of driven and out-of-equilibrium systems with topological phases. After presenting some well-known examples of topological systems in one and two dimensions, we discuss the effects of periodic driving in some of them. We discuss the unitary as well as the non-unitary dynamical preparation of topologically non-trivial states in one and two dimensional systems. We then discuss the effects of Majorana end modes on transport through a Kitaev chain and a junction of three Kitaev chains. Transport through the surface states of a three-dimensional topological insulator is discussed. The effects of hybridization between the top and bottom surfaces and the application of electromagnetic radiation on a strip-like region on the top surface are described. Two unusual topological systems are mentioned briefly, namely, a spin system on a kagome lattice and a Josephson junction of three superconducting wires. We have also included a pedagogical discussion on topology and topological invariants in the appendices, where the connection between topological properties and the intrinsic geometry of quantum states is also elucidated.
We consider the effects of long-range temporal correlations in many-particle systems, focusing particularly on fluctuations about the typical behaviour. For a specific class of memory dependence we discuss the modification of the large deviation principle describing the probability of rare currents and show how superdiffusive behaviour can emerge. We illustrate the general framework with detailed calculations for a memory-dependent version of the totally asymmetric simple exclusion process as well as indicating connections to other recent work.