Weak Galilean invariance as a selection principle for coarse-grained diffusive models
Abstract
Galilean invariance is a cornerstone of classical mechanics. It states that for closed systems the equations of motion of the microscopic degrees of freedom do not change under Galilean transformations to different inertial frames. However, the description of real world systems usually requires coarse-grained models integrating complex microscopic interactions indistinguishably as friction and stochastic forces, which intrinsically violate Galilean invariance. By studying the coarse-graining procedure in different frames, we show that alternative rules—denoted as “weak Galilean invariance”—need to be satisfied by these stochastic models. Our results highlight that diffusive models in general cannot be chosen arbitrarily based on the agreement with data alone but have to satisfy weak Galilean invariance for physical consistency.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- May 14, 2018
- Source ID
- 10.1073/pnas.1717292115
Entities
People
- Adrian Baule
- Andrea Cairoli
- Rainer Klages
Organizations
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
- Imperial College London
- Office of Naval Research Global
- Queen Mary University of London