Stationary Distribution and Thermodynamic Relation in Nonequilibrium Steady States

We describe our recent attempts toward statistical mechanics and thermodynamics for nonequilibrium steady states (NESS) realized, e.g., in a heat conducting system. Our first result is a simple expression of the probability distribution (of microscopic states) of a NESS. Our second result is a natural extension of the thermodynamic Clausius relation and a definition of an accompanying entropy in NESS. This entropy coincides with the normalization constant appearing in the above mentioned microscopic expression of NESS, and has an expression similar to the Shannon entropy (with a further symmetrization). The NESS entropy proposed here is a clearly defined measurable quantity even in a system with a large degrees of freedom. We numerically measure the NESS entropy in hardsphere fluid systems with a heat current, by observing energy exchange between the system and the heat baths when the temperatures of the baths are changed according to specified protocols.