Maximum Entropy Production as an Inference Algorithm that Translates Physical Assumptions into Macroscopic Predictions: Don’t Shoot the Messenger

Is Maximum Entropy Production (MEP) a physical principle? In this paper I tentatively suggest it is not, on the basis that MEP is equivalent to Jaynes’ Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) inference algorithm that passively translates physical assumptions into macroscopic predictions, as applied to non-equilibr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEntropy (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 11; no. 4; pp. 931 - 944
Main Author Dewar, Roderick C.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.12.2009
Subjects
maximum entropy
maximum entropy production
non-equilibrium
statistical inference
statistical mechanics
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ISSN1099-4300
1099-4300
DOI10.3390/e11040931

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Summary:Is Maximum Entropy Production (MEP) a physical principle? In this paper I tentatively suggest it is not, on the basis that MEP is equivalent to Jaynes’ Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) inference algorithm that passively translates physical assumptions into macroscopic predictions, as applied to non-equilibrium systems. MaxEnt itself has no physical content; disagreement between MaxEnt predictions and experiment falsifies the physical assumptions, not MaxEnt. While it remains to be shown rigorously that MEP is indeed equivalent to MaxEnt for systems arbitrarily far from equilibrium, work in progress tentatively supports this conclusion. In terms of its role within non-equilibrium statistical mechanics, MEP might then be better understood as Messenger of Essential Physics.
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ISSN:1099-4300
1099-4300
DOI:10.3390/e11040931