Nonequilibrium Thermodynamic Entropy is Not Shannon Entropy

ORAL

Abstract

Defining entropy out of equilibrium is an outstanding challenge. For certain stochastic lattice models in nonequilibrium steady states, consistent definitions of temperature and chemical potential have been verified; we define the entropy Sth via integration of thermodynamic relations, e.g., (∂S/∂E)V,N = 1/T. In equilibrium, the thermodynamic entropy equals the Shannon entropy,
SS = - ΣC p(C) ln p(C) [the sum is over configurations, with p(C) the probability of configuration C]. Given this, and lacking any specific alternative, the equality Sth = SS is widely assumed to hold out of equilibrium as well. Here we show by direct calculation of the stationary nonequilibrium probability distribution p(C) of three models - the driven lattice gas with nearest-neighbor exclusion, the Katz-Lebowitz-Spohn driven lattice gas, and the two-temperature Ising model - that Sth ≠ SS. In the driven models, we find SS - Sth ∝ D2 for small drive D, as expected on grounds of symmetry. Since the thermodynamic entropy of these models is extensive, whereas the Shannon entropy is the (essentially unique) extensive functional of p(C), we are led to conclude that out of equilibrium, thermodynamic entropy cannot be written as a functional of the probability distribution on configuration space.

Presenters

  • Ronald Dickman

    Física, Univ Fed de Minas Gerais

Authors

  • Ronald Dickman

    Física, Univ Fed de Minas Gerais

  • Leonardo Ferreira Calazans

    Física, Univ Fed de Minas Gerais