Abstract
We investigate simple model systems in contact with an infinite heat bath. The former consists of a finite number of particles in a bounded regionλ ofℝ d,d=1,2. The heat baths are infinite particle systems which can penetrateλ and interact with the system via elastic collisions. Outsideλ the particles move freely and have a Gibbs probability measure prior to enteringλ. We show that starting from almost any initial configuration, the system approaches, ast → ∞, the appropriate Gibbs distribution. The combined system plus bath is Bernoulli.
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Partially supported by NSF Grants PHY 8201708 and DMR 81-14726-02.
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Goldstein, S., Lebowitz, J.L. & Ravishankar, K. Approach to equilibrium in models of a system in contact with a heat bath. J Stat Phys 43, 303–315 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01010583
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01010583