title: Statistical mechanics far from equilibrium: prediction and test for a sheared system.
abstract: We report the application of a far-from-equilibrium statistical-mechanical theory to a nontrivial system with Newtonian interactions in continuous boundary-driven flow. By numerically time stepping the force-balance equations of a one-dimensional model fluid we measure occupancies and transition rates in simulation. The high-shear-rate simulation data reproduce the predicted invariant quantities, thus supporting the theory that a class of nonequilibrium steady states of matter, namely, sheared complex fluids, is amenable to statistical treatment from first principles.
authors.affiliation: School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: R M L
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Simha
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baule
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Olmsted