Impenetrable Barriers in Phase Space for Deterministic Thermostats

Abstract

We investigate the relation between the phase space structure of Hamiltonian and non-Hamiltonian deterministic thermostats. We show that phase space structures governing reaction dynamics in Hamiltonian systems map to the same type of phase space structures for the non-Hamiltonian isokinetic equations of motion for the thermostatted Hamiltonian. Our results establish a framework for analyzing thermostat dynamics using concepts and methods developed in reaction rate theory.