Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Experiments often detect only selected transitions, leaving the underlying state dynamics and dissipation hidden. We show that waiting-time distributions between directed visible events can reconstruct the boundary dynamics without observing the reverse of every detected transition. Under a simple source-target closure condition, they determine visible rates and the hidden excursions connecting observed states, yielding a rigorous lower bound on total entropy production that improves the standard waiting-time estimate when reverse events are available. Remarkably, observing only a spanning directed cycle is sufficient to identify the full Markov generator, even when all reverse cycle edges and other microscopic transitions remain unseen.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Author: Gu, Jie
Language: English
Subfield: Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7215119405