Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: The Lorenz system is the canonical low-order model of convective instability, yet its dissipative and driving terms have never been checked against, nor constructed from, an explicit thermodynamic bookkeeping. We derive a modification that satisfies the local-detailed-balance condition for macroscopic relaxation toward nonequilibrium steady states, thereby identifying the thermodynamic force, entropy-production rate and frenesy of the resulting flow. The resulting model produces a transition from a quiescent fixed point to a robust, large-amplitude relaxation oscillation, closely analogous to recharge-discharge oscillator paradigms used for the El Nino-Southern Oscillation. The system alternates between a long, nearly reversible recharge phase and a brief, violently frenetic discharge burst, during which essentially all of the cycle's activity and entropy production is concentrated.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: Khodabandehlou, Faezeh, Maes, Christian
Institution: KU Leuven
Language: English
Subfield: Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
OpenAlex ID: W7213905487