Hamiltonian formalism and path entropy maximization

Abstract

Maximization of the path information entropy is a clear prescription for constructing models in non-equilibrium statistical mechanics. Here it is shown that, following this prescription under the assumption of arbitrary instantaneous constraints on position and velocity, a Lagrangian emerges which determines the most probable trajectory. Deviations from the probability maximum can be consistently described as slices in time by a Hamiltonian, according to a nonlinear Langevin equation and its associated Fokker–Planck equation. The connections unveiled between the maximization of path entropy and the Langevin/Fokker–Planck equations imply that missing information about the phase space coordinate never decreases in time, a purely information-theoretical version of the second law of thermodynamics. All of these results are independent of any physical assumptions, and thus valid for any generalized coordinate as a function of time, or any other parameter. This reinforces the view that the second law is a fundamental property of plausible inference.