Topic 1. Fundamental issues in nonequilibrium thermodynamics

Various approaches to nonequilibrium thermodynamics, as for instance Extended Irreversible Thermodynamics (EIT), rational thermodynamics, the General Equation for Nonequilibrium Reversible-Irreversible Coupling (GENERIC), and the contact-structure geometrical formulation of thermodynamics, have been developed. One interest is in elaborating on the relationship between such approaches. Furthermore, there are several fundamental issues that warrant special attention, e.g.

• Concepts of entropy and temperature in mesoscopic dynamical theories
• Exergy, and its relation to other nonequilibrium concepts
• Dissipation potentials, and their significance for modeling and simulation purposes
• Contemporary discussions, such as on negative absolute temperature.

Beyond such fundamental issues, attention is also paid to current applications of nonequilibrium thermodynamics to conceptually challenging systems and situations, e.g.,

• Macro- and micro-black holes
• Heat transport at the nanoscale
• Coupling of chemical reactions with mechanics in biological systems
• Turbulence
• Contemporary issues, such as the temperature of a nano-compartment.

We thus welcome contributions that deal with fundamental issues of nonequilibrium thermodynamics, and/or apply nonequilibrium thermodynamics to conceptually challenging situations (for coarse-graining and multiscale approaches, please consider Topic 2), as exemplified with the above list.

Teachers (Summer school)

• Miroslav Grmela   École Polytechnique de Montréal, Canada
• Henning Struchtrup   University of Victoria, Canada

Topic organizers

• David Jou   Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
• Miroslav Grmela   École Polytechnique de Montréal, Canada

2025