Steady State of a Dissipative Flow-Controlled System and the Maximum Entropy Production Principle

TL;DR

This paper develops a MaxEnt-based theory to predict the steady state of dissipative flow systems, providing a thermodynamic justification for the Maximum Entropy Production principle and explaining the formation of complex systems.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical framework using MaxEnt to determine steady states in flow-controlled systems, linking thermodynamics and complex system formation.

Findings

MaxEnt principle predicts steady states in flow systems.

Provides a thermodynamic basis for the MEP principle.

Explains the role of entropy production in complex system formation.

Abstract

A theory to predict the steady state position of a dissipative, flow-controlled system, as defined by a control volume, is developed based on the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) principle of Jaynes, involving minimisation of a generalised free energy-like potential. The analysis provides a theoretical justification of a local, conditional form of the Maximum Entropy Production (MEP) principle, which successfully predicts the observable properties of many such systems. The analysis reveals a very different manifestation of the second law of thermodynamics in steady state flow systems, which {provides a driving force for} the formation of complex systems, including life.