title: On a variational approach to the Soret coefficient.
abstract: In this paper, a variational approach to the Soret coefficient initiated by Kempers [J. Chem. Phys. 90, 6541 (1989)] is critically revisited. We show that the physical coherence of the whole procedure leads to a very peculiar choice of the type of constraint one can select to mimic the nonequilibrium stationary state. However, we demonstrate that its precise definition would require a statistical evaluation of the heat of transfer, or a variational approach based on more microscopic ingredients.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Chimie Physique, UMR 8000, 91405 Orsay, France. farago@ics.u-strasbg.fr
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Farago
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rousseau
authors.forename: Pierre-Arnaud
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Artola