The maximum entropy rate description of a thermodynamic system in a stationary non-equilibrium state

Abstract

In this paper we present a simple model to describe a rather general system in a stationary non-equilibrium state, which is an open system traversed by a stationary flux. The probabilistic description is provided by a non-homogeneous Markov chain, which is not assumed on the basis of a model of the microscopic interactions but rather derived from the knowledge of the macroscopic fluxes traversing the system through a maximum entropy rate principle. © 2009 by the author; licensee Molecular Diversity Preservation International, Basel, Switzerland.