We consider a chain of three rotors (rotators) whose ends are coupled to stochastic heat baths. The temperatures of the two baths can be different, and we allow some constant torque to be applied at each end of the chain. Under some non-degeneracy condition on the interaction potentials, we show that the process admits a unique invariant probability measure, and that it is ergodic with a stretched exponential rate. The interesting issue is to estimate the rate at which the energy of the middle rotor decreases. As it is not directly connected to the heat baths, its energy can only be dissipated through the two outer rotors. But when the middle rotor spins very rapidly, it fails to interact effectively with its neighbours due to the rapid oscillations of the forces. By averaging techniques, we obtain an effective dynamics for the middle rotor, which then enables us to find a Lyapunov function. This and an irreducibility argument give the desired result. We finally illustrate numerically some properties of the non-equilibrium steady state.

We discuss, in the context of energy flow in high-dimensional systems and Kolmogorov-Arnol'd-Moser (KAM) theory, the behavior of a chain of rotators (rotors) which is purely Hamiltonian, apart from dissipation at just one end. We derive bounds on the dissipation rate which become arbitrarily small in certain physical regimes, and we present numerical evidence that these bounds are sharp. We relate this to the decoupling of non-resonant terms as is known in KAM problems.

Non-equilibrium steady states for chains of oscillators (masses) connected by harmonic and anharmonic springs and interacting with heat baths at different temperatures have been the subject of several studies. In this paper, we show how some of the results extend to more complicated networks. We establish the existence and uniqueness of the non-equilibrium steady state, and show that the system converges to it at an exponential rate. The arguments are based on controllability and conditions on the potentials at infinity. arXiv:1712.09413v2 [math-ph]

Abstract:We study a chain of four interacting rotors (rotators) connected at both ends to stochastic heat baths at different temperatures. We show that for non-degenerate interaction potentials the system relaxes, at a stretched exponential rate, to a non-equilibrium steady state (NESS). Rotors with high energy tend to decouple from their neighbors due to fast oscillation of the forces. Because of this, the energy of the central two rotors, which interact with the heat baths only through the external rotors, can take a very long time to dissipate. By appropriately averaging the oscillatory forces, we estimate the dissipation rate and construct a Lyapunov function. Compared to the chain of length three (considered previously by C. Poquet and the current authors), the new difficulty with four rotors is the appearance of resonances when both central rotors are fast. We deal with these resonances using the rapid thermalization of the two external rotors.

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