Nonergodicity and central limit behavior for systems with long-range interactions

Abstract

In this paper we discuss the nonergodic behavior for a class of long-standing quasi-stationary states in a paradigmatic model of long-range interacting systems, i.e. the HMF model. We show that ensemble averages and time averages for velocities probability density functions (pdfs) do not coincide and in particular the latter exhibit a tendency to converge towards a q-Gaussian attractor instead of the usual Gaussian one predicted by the Central Limit Theorem, when ergodicity applies.