Minimal constraints for maximum caliber analysis of dissipative steady-state systems.

Abstract

Maximum caliber (Max Cal) is purported to be a general variational principle for nonequilibrium statistical physics. But recently, Jack and Evans [J. Stat. Mech.: Theory Exp. (2016) 0933051742-546810.1088/1742-5468/2016/09/093305] and Maes [Non-Dissipative Effects in Nonequilibrium Systems (Springer, New York, 2018)] have raised concerns about how Max Cal handles dissipative processes. Here, we show that the problem does not lie in Max Cal; the problem is in the use of insufficient constraints. We also present an exactly solvable single-particle model of dissipation, valid far from equilibrium, and its solution by maximum caliber. The model illustrates how the influx and efflux of work and heat into a flowing system alters the distribution of trajectories. Maximum caliber is a viable principle for dissipative systems.