Stochastic Geometric Mechanics in Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics: Schr\"odinger meets Onsager

TL;DR

This paper explores the connection between Schrödinger's variational principles and Onsager's reciprocal relations in nonequilibrium thermodynamics, highlighting a novel perspective that bridges quantum-inspired variational methods with classical thermodynamic frameworks.

Contribution

It introduces a new conceptual link between Schrödinger's variational problem and Onsager's approach, which has been overlooked in classical thermodynamics.

Findings

Establishes a theoretical relation between Schrödinger's variational principle and Onsager's reciprocal relations.

Provides a new perspective on nonequilibrium thermodynamics by integrating quantum-inspired methods.

Highlights the historical context and potential implications for future research in statistical mechanics.

Abstract

We are describing relations between Schr\"odinger's variational problem and Onsager's approach to nonequilibrium statistical mechanics. Although the second work on reciprocal relations and detailed balance has been published in the same year (1931) as the first one, the impact of Schr\"odinger's idea has not yet been considered in the classical context of Onsager.