Formalizing an optimization problem for inferring the entropy production from observed statistics

Statistical Physics and Complexity Group meeting

Formalizing an optimization problem for inferring the entropy production from observed statistics

  • Event time: 3:00pm until 4:00pm
  • Event date: 12th November 2024
  • Speaker: (Tel Aviv University)
  • Location: Online - see email.

Event details

Nonequilibrium processes break time-reversal symmetry and generate entropy. Living systems are driven out-of-equilibrium at the microscopic level of molecular motors that exploit chemical potential gradients to transduce free energy to mechanical work, while dissipating energy. The amount of energy dissipation, or the entropy production rate (EPR), sets thermodynamic constraints on cellular processes. Practically, calculating the total EPR in experimental systems is challenging due to the limited spatiotemporal resolution and the lack of complete information on every degree of freedom. We propose an inference approach for a tight lower bound on the total EPR given partial information, based on an optimization scheme that uses the observed transitions and waiting times statistics. We introduce hierarchical bounds relying on the first- and second-order transitions, and the moments of the observed waiting time distributions, and apply our approach to two generic systems of a hidden network and a molecular motor, with lumped states. Finally, we show that a lower bound on the total EPR can be obtained even when assuming a simpler network topology of the full system.