par Sonnino, Giorgio
Référence Journal of mathematical physics, 51, 12, 122703
Publication Publié, 2010-12
Article révisé par les pairs
Résumé : Using the mass balance equations for chemical reactions, we show how the system relaxes toward a steady-state in and out of the Onsager region. In the chemical affinities space, after fast transients, the relaxation process is a straight line when operating in the Onsager region, while out of this regime, the evolution of the system is such that the projections of the evolution equations for the forces and the shortest path on the flows coincide. For spatially extended systems, similar results are valid for the evolution of the thermodynamic mode (i.e., the mode with wave-number k = 0). These results allow us to obtain the expression for the affine connection of the space covered by the thermodynamic forces, close to the steady-states. Through the affine connection, the nonlinear closure equations are derived. © 2010 American Institute of Physics.