Topic: time-irreversibility

Far-from-equilibrium processes constantly dissipate energy while converting a free-energy source to another form of energy. Living systems, for example, rely on an orchestra of molecular motors that consume chemical fuel to produce mechanical work. In this talk, I will describe two features of life, namely, time-irreversibility, and nonequilibrium self-assembly. Time irreversibility is the hallmark of nonequilibrium dissipative processes. Detecting dissipation is essential for our basic understanding of the underlying physical mechanism, however, it remains a challenge in the absence of obser

The spatio-temporal structure of brain dynamics at the macroscopic level has been hypothesized to reflect neuronal communication for cognitive processes. In particular, recent studies have focused on time-irreversibility and its relationship with consciousness [1,2]. Beyond this example of high-level cognitive function, this raises the question of the role of different ingredients that shape the structure-function relationship in whole-brain dynamics, which can be formalized using the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck (OU) process that combines input “noise” and effective connectivity as key ingredients. Her