Ergodicity breaking and restoration in models of heat transport with microscopic reversibility

Abstract

The behavior of lattice models in which time reversibility is enforced at the level of trajectories (microscopic reversibility) is studied analytically. Conditions for ergodicity breaking are explored, and a few examples of systems characterized by an additional conserved quantity besides energy are presented. All the systems are characterized by ergodicity restoration when put in contact with a thermal bath, except for specific choices of the interactions between the atoms in the system and the bath. The study shows that the additional conserved quantities return to play a role in non-equilibrium conditions. The similarities with the behavior of some mesoscale systems, in which the transition rates satisfy detailed balance but not microscopic reversibility, are discussed.