The dynamic and thermodynamic origin of dissipative chaos: chemical Lorenz system

Abstract

Chaos appears widely in various chemical and physical systems and is often accompanied by nonequilibrium due to its dissipative nature. However, it is still not clear how dissipative chaos is influenced by nonequilibrium conditions. Here, we study chaos from the perspective of nonequilibrium dynamics by considering a chemical Lorenz system. We found that its nonequilibrium nature can be quantified from the steady-state probability flux in the state space. The dynamic origin for the onset and offset of dissipative chaos was from the sudden appearance and disappearance of such nonequilibrium fluxes. Meanwhile, the dissipation associated with the flux as quantified by the entropy production rate provides the thermodynamic origin of dissipative chaos. Sharp changes in the degree of nonequilibrium also provide alternative quantitative indicators for the onset and offset of dissipative chaos.