Exponential volume dependence of entropy-current fluctuations at first-order phase transitions in chemical reaction networks
Basile Nguyen, Udo Seifert
Abstract
In chemical reaction networks, bistability can only occur far from equilibrium. It is associated with a first-order phase transition where the control parameter is the thermodynamic force. At the bistable point, the entropy production is known to be discontinuous with respect to the thermodynamic force. We show that the fluctuations of the entropy production have an exponential volume-dependence when the system is bistable. At the phase transition, the exponential prefactor is the height of the effective potential barrier between the two fixed-points. Our results obtained for Schlögl's model can be extended to any chemical network.
Topics & Concepts
BistabilityEntropy productionPhase transitionExponential functionStatistical physicsEntropy (arrow of time)First orderThermodynamicsMathematicsPhysicsApplied mathematicsMathematical analysisQuantum mechanicsAdvanced Thermodynamics and Statistical MechanicsNeural dynamics and brain functionGene Regulatory Network Analysis