Non-equilibrium thermodynamics as gauge fixing

TL;DR

This paper proposes a gauge-theoretic framework for non-equilibrium thermodynamics, extending Onsager's linear relations to non-linear equations by treating thermodynamic forces as gauge fields.

Contribution

It introduces a novel gauge fixing approach to derive non-linear constitutive equations from Onsager's linear theory.

Findings

Extended Onsager's relations to non-linear regimes

Revealed gauge structure underlying thermodynamic forces

Provided a new perspective on non-equilibrium thermodynamics

Abstract

By considering a thermodynamic force as gauge field, we extend constitutive equations of Onsager's non-equilibrium thermodynamics to non-linear equations. In Onsager's non-equilibrium thermodynamics, the thermodynamic force corresponds to a pure gauge, for which the constitutive equations are obtained by gauge fixing. If we extend the thermodynamic force from pure gauge to physical one, we obtain the non-linear constitutive equations of non-equilibrium thermodynamics.