Asymmetry of steady state current fluctuations in nonequilibrium systems

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new modulated Gaussian distribution to describe biased current fluctuations in nonequilibrium steady states, extending classical fluctuation theory and supported by experiments and simulations.

Contribution

It presents a novel distribution model for nonequilibrium current fluctuations, expanding Onsager-Machlup theory and linking to large deviation principles.

Findings

Derived a modulated Gaussian distribution for biased fluctuations

Confirmed the model with laboratory experiments and molecular dynamics

Extended classical fluctuation theory to nonequilibrium systems

Abstract

For systems in nonequilibrium steady states, a novel modulated Gaussian probability distribution is derived to incorporate a new phenomenon of biased current fluctuations, discovered by recent laboratory experiments and confirmed by molecular dynamics simulations. Our results consistently extend Onsager-Machlup fluctuation theory for systems in thermal equilibrium. Connections with the principles of Statistical Mechanics due to Boltzmann and Gibbs are discussed. At last, the modulated Gaussian distribution is of potential interest for other statistical disciplines, which make use of the Large Deviation theory.