Contact Geometry of Mesoscopic Thermodynamics and Dynamics

Systems, variational principles and interconnections in non-equilibrium thermodynamics

The paper investigates a systematic approach to modelling in non-equilibrium thermodynamics by focusing upon the notion of interconnections, where we propose a novel Lagrangian variational formulation of such interconnected systems by extending the variational principle of Hamilton in mechanics. In particular, we show how a non-equilibrium thermodynamic system can be regarded as an interconnected system of primitive physical elements or subsystems throughout an interconnection. While this approach is new in non-equilibrium thermodynamics, this idea has been known as a useful tool for the modelling of complicated systems in networks as well as in mechanics. Hence, the setting developed in this paper yields a promising direction for building a unifying description in various areas of modern science via thermodynamic principles, while being at the same time related to the early developments of variational mechanics. This article is part of the theme issue 'Thermodynamics 2.0: Bridging the natural and social sciences (Part 2)'.

Geometric Modeling for Control of Thermodynamic Systems

This paper discusses the way that energy and entropy can be regarded as storage functions with respect to supply rates corresponding to the power and thermal ports of the thermodynamic system. Then, this research demonstrates how the factorization of the irreversible entropy production leads to quasi-Hamiltonian formulations, and how this can be used for stability analysis. The Liouville geometry approach to contact geometry is summarized, and how this leads to the definition of port-thermodynamic systems is discussed. This notion is utilized for control by interconnection of thermodynamic systems.

Quantum Current Algebra in Action: Linearization, Integrability of Classical and Factorization of Quantum Nonlinear Dynamical Systems

This review is devoted to the universal algebraic and geometric properties of the non-relativistic quantum current algebra symmetry and to their representations subject to applications in describing geometrical and analytical properties of quantum and classical integrable Hamiltonian systems of theoretical and mathematical physics. The Fock space, the non-relativistic quantum current algebra symmetry and its cyclic representations on separable Hilbert spaces are reviewed and described in detail. The unitary current algebra family of operators and generating functional equations are described. A generating functional method to constructing irreducible current algebra representations is reviewed, and the ergodicity of the corresponding representation Hilbert space measure is mentioned. The algebraic properties of the so called coherent states are also reviewed, generated by cyclic representations of the Heisenberg algebra on Hilbert spaces. Unbelievable and impressive applications of coherent states to the theory of nonlinear dynamical systems on Hilbert spaces are described, along with their linearization and integrability. Moreover, we present a further development of these results within the modern Lie-algebraic approach to nonlinear dynamical systems on Poissonian functional manifolds, which proved to be both unexpected and important for the classification of integrable Hamiltonian flows on Hilbert spaces. The quantum current Lie algebra symmetry properties and their functional representations, interpreted as a universal algebraic structure of symmetries of completely integrable nonlinear dynamical systems of theoretical and mathematical physics on functional manifolds, are analyzed in detail. Based on the current algebra symmetry structure and their functional representations, an effective integrability criterion is formulated for a wide class of completely integrable Hamiltonian systems on functional manifolds. The related algebraic structure of the Poissonian operators and an effective algorithm of their analytical construction are described. The current algebra representations in separable Hilbert spaces and the factorized structure of quantum integrable many-particle Hamiltonian systems are reviewed. The related current algebra-based Hamiltonian reconstruction of the many-particle oscillatory and Calogero–Moser–Sutherland quantum models are reviewed and discussed in detail. The related quasi-classical quantum current algebra density representations and the collective variable approach in equilibrium statistical physics are reviewed. In addition, the classical Wigner type current algebra representation and its application to non-equilibrium classical statistical mechanics are described, and the construction of the Lie–Poisson structure on the phase space of the infinite hierarchy of distribution functions is presented. The related Boltzmann–Bogolubov type kinetic equation for the generating functional of many-particle distribution functions is constructed, and the invariant reduction scheme, compatible with imposed correlation functions constraints, is suggested and analyzed in detail. We also review current algebra functional representations and their geometric structure subject to the analytical description of quasi-stationary hydrodynamic flows and their magneto-hydrodynamic generalizations. A unified geometric description of the ideal idiabatic liquid dynamics is presented, and its Hamiltonian structure is analyzed. A special chapter of the review is devoted to recent results on the description of modified current Lie algebra symmetries on torus and their Lie-algebraic structures, related to integrable so-called heavenly type spatially many-dimensional dynamical systems on functional manifolds.

Sasaki–Ricci Flow and Deformations of Contact Action–Angle Coordinates on Spaces T1,1 and Yp,q

In this paper, we are concerned with completely integrable Hamiltonian systems and generalized action–angle coordinates in the setting of contact geometry. We investigate the deformations of the Sasaki–Einstein structures, keeping the Reeb vector field fixed, but changing the contact form. We examine the modifications of the action–angle coordinates by the Sasaki–Ricci flow. We then pass to the particular cases of the contact structures of the five-dimensional Sasaki–Einstein manifolds T1,1 and Yp,q.

Multiscale Thermodynamics

Multiscale thermodynamics is a theory of the relations among the levels of investigation of complex systems. It includes the classical equilibrium thermodynamics as a special case, but it is applicable to both static and time evolving processes in externally and internally driven macroscopic systems that are far from equilibrium and are investigated at the microscopic, mesoscopic, and macroscopic levels. In this paper we formulate multiscale thermodynamics, explain its origin, and illustrate it in mesoscopic dynamics that combines levels.

Geometric Aspects of the Isentropic Liquid Dynamics and Vorticity Invariants

We review a modern differential geometric description of fluid isentropic motion and features of it including diffeomorphism group structure, modelling the related dynamics, as well as its compatibility with the quasi-stationary thermodynamical constraints. We analyze the adiabatic liquid dynamics, within which, following the general approach, the nature of the related Poissonian structure on the fluid motion phase space as a semidirect Banach groups product, and a natural reduction of the canonical symplectic structure on its cotangent space to the classical Lie-Poisson bracket on the adjoint space to the corresponding semidirect Lie algebras product are explained in detail. We also present a modification of the Hamiltonian analysis in case of a flow governed by isothermal liquid dynamics. We study the differential-geometric structure of isentropic magneto-hydrodynamic superfluid phase space and its related motion within the Hamiltonian analysis and related invariant theory. In particular, we construct an infinite hierarchy of different kinds of integral magneto-hydrodynamic invariants, generalizing those previously constructed in the literature, and analyzing their differential-geometric origins. A charged liquid dynamics on the phase space invariant with respect to an abelian gauge group transformation is also investigated, and some generalizations of the canonical Lie-Poisson type bracket is presented.

The fourth law of thermodynamics: steepest entropy ascent

When thermodynamics is understood as the science (or art) of constructing effective models of natural phenomena by choosing a minimal level of description capable of capturing the essential features of the physical reality of interest, the scientific community has identified a set of general rules that the model must incorporate if it aspires to be consistent with the body of known experimental evidence. Some of these rules are believed to be so general that we think of them as laws of Nature, such as the great conservation principles, whose 'greatness' derives from their generality, as masterfully explained by Feynman in one of his legendary lectures. The second law of thermodynamics is universally contemplated among the great laws of Nature. In this paper, we show that in the past four decades, an enormous body of scientific research devoted to modelling the essential features of non-equilibrium natural phenomena has converged from many different directions and frameworks towards the general recognition (albeit still expressed in different but equivalent forms and language) that another rule is also indispensable and reveals another great law of Nature that we propose to call the 'fourth law of thermodynamics'. We state it as follows: every non-equilibrium state of a system or local subsystem for which entropy is well defined must be equipped with a metric in state space with respect to which the irreversible component of its time evolution is in the direction of steepest entropy ascent compatible with the conservation constraints. To illustrate the power of the fourth law, we derive (nonlinear) extensions of Onsager reciprocity and fluctuation-dissipation relations to the far-non-equilibrium realm within the framework of the rate-controlled constrained-equilibrium approximation (also known as the quasi-equilibrium approximation). This article is part of the theme issue 'Fundamental aspects of nonequilibrium thermodynamics'.

Thermomass Theory in the Framework of GENERIC

Thermomass theory was developed to deal with the non-Fourier heat conduction phenomena involving the influence of heat inertia. However, its structure, derived from an analogy to fluid mechanics, requires further mathematical verification. In this paper, General Equation for Non-Equilibrium Reversible-Irreversible Coupling (GENERIC) framework, which is a geometrical and mathematical structure in nonequilibrium thermodynamics, was employed to verify the thermomass theory. At first, the thermomass theory was introduced briefly; then, the GENERIC framework was applied in the thermomass gas system with state variables, thermomass gas density ρ_h and thermomass momentum m_h, and the time evolution equations obtained from GENERIC framework were compared with those in thermomass theory. It was demonstrated that the equations generated by GENERIC theory were the same as the continuity and momentum equations in thermomass theory with proper potentials and eta-function. Thermomass theory gives a physical interpretation to the GENERIC theory in non-Fourier heat conduction phenomena. By combining these two theories, it was found that the Hamiltonian energy in reversible process and the dissipation potential in irreversible process could be unified into one formulation, i.e., the thermomass energy. Furthermore, via the framework of GENERIC, thermomass theory could be extended to involve more state variables, such as internal source term and distortion matrix term. Numerical simulations investigated the influences of the convective term and distortion matrix term in the equations. It was found that the convective term changed the shape of thermal energy distribution and enhanced the spreading behaviors of thermal energy. The distortion matrix implies the elasticity and viscosity of the thermomass gas.

Lifts of Symmetric Tensors: Fluids, Plasma, and Grad Hierarchy

Geometrical and algebraic aspects of the Hamiltonian realizations of the Euler’s fluid and the Vlasov’s plasma are investigated. A purely geometric pathway (involving complete lifts and vertical representatives) is proposed, which establishes a link from particle motion to evolution of the field variables. This pathway is free from Poisson brackets and Hamiltonian functionals. Momentum realizations (sections on T * T * Q ) of (both compressible and incompressible) Euler’s fluid and Vlasov’s plasma are derived. Poisson mappings relating the momentum realizations with the usual field equations are constructed as duals of injective Lie algebra homomorphisms. The geometric pathway is then used to construct the evolution equations for 10-moments kinetic theory. This way the entire Grad hierarchy (including entropic fields) can be constructed in a purely geometric way. This geometric way is an alternative to the usual Hamiltonian approach to mechanics based on Poisson brackets.

Dynamic Maximum Entropy Reduction

Any physical system can be regarded on different levels of description varying by how detailed the description is. We propose a method called Dynamic MaxEnt (DynMaxEnt) that provides a passage from the more detailed evolution equations to equations for the less detailed state variables. The method is based on explicit recognition of the state and conjugate variables, which can relax towards the respective quasi-equilibria in different ways. Detailed state variables are reduced using the usual principle of maximum entropy (MaxEnt), whereas relaxation of conjugate variables guarantees that the reduced equations are closed. Moreover, an infinite chain of consecutive DynMaxEnt approximations can be constructed. The method is demonstrated on a particle with friction, complex fluids (equipped with conformation and Reynolds stress tensors), hyperbolic heat conduction and magnetohydrodynamics.

Geometry of Thermodynamic Processes

Since the 1970s, contact geometry has been recognized as an appropriate framework for the geometric formulation of thermodynamic systems, and in particular their state properties. More recently it has been shown how the symplectization of contact manifolds provides a new vantage point; enabling, among other things, to switch easily between the energy and entropy representations of a thermodynamic system. In the present paper, this is continued towards the global geometric definition of a degenerate Riemannian metric on the homogeneous Lagrangian submanifold describing the state properties, which is overarching the locally-defined metrics of Weinhold and Ruppeiner. Next, a geometric formulation is given of non-equilibrium thermodynamic processes, in terms of Hamiltonian dynamics defined by Hamiltonian functions that are homogeneous of degree one in the co-extensive variables and zero on the homogeneous Lagrangian submanifold. The correspondence between objects in contact geometry and their homogeneous counterparts in symplectic geometry, is extended to the definition of port-thermodynamic systems and the formulation of interconnection ports. The resulting geometric framework is illustrated on a number of simple examples, already indicating its potential for analysis and control.

A method for predicting non-equilibrium thermal expansion using steepest-entropy-ascent quantum thermodynamics

Steepest-entropy-ascent quantum thermodynamics (SEAQT) is an intriguing approach that describes equilibrium and dynamic processes in a self-consistent way. To date, it has been applied primarily to gas phase systems because of the difficulty in generating the complex eigenstructures (eigenvalues and eigenfunctions) associated with solid or liquid phases. In this contribution, the SEAQT modeling is extended to the solid phase by constructing a so-called pseudo-eigenstructure, and its applicability is demonstrated by calculating the thermal expansion of metallic silver for three cases: (a) stable equilibrium, (b) along three irreversible paths from different initial non-equilibrium states to stable equilibrium, and (c) along an irreversible path between two stable equilibrium states. The SEAQT framework with an anharmonic pseudo-eigenstructure predicts reasonable values for the equilibrium thermal expansion. For the irreversible cases considered, the SEAQT approach makes it possible to predict the time-dependence of lattice relaxations from the initial state to the final equilibrium state.

Hamiltonian and Godunov structures of the Grad hierarchy

The time evolution governed by the Boltzmann kinetic equation is compatible with mechanics and thermodynamics. The former compatibility is mathematically expressed in the Hamiltonian and Godunov structures, the latter in the structure of gradient dynamics guaranteeing the growth of entropy and consequently the approach to equilibrium. We carry all three structures to the Grad reformulation of the Boltzmann equation (to the Grad hierarchy). First, we recognize the structures in the infinite Grad hierarchy and then in several examples of finite hierarchies representing extended hydrodynamic equations. In the context of Grad's hierarchies, we also investigate relations between Hamiltonian and Godunov structures.

Generalized thermodynamic relations for a system experiencing heat and mass diffusion in the far-from-equilibrium realm based on steepest entropy ascent

This paper presents a nonequilibrium thermodynamic model for the relaxation of a local, isolated system in nonequilibrium using the principle of steepest entropy ascent (SEA), which can be expressed as a variational principle in thermodynamic state space. The model is able to arrive at the Onsager relations for such a system. Since no assumption of local equilibrium is made, the conjugate fluxes and forces are intrinsic to the subspaces of the system's state space and are defined using the concepts of hypoequilibrium state and nonequilibrium intensive properties, which describe the nonmutual equilibrium status between subspaces of the thermodynamic state space. The Onsager relations are shown to be a thermodynamic kinematic feature of the system independent of the specific details of the micromechanical dynamics. Two kinds of relaxation processes are studied with different constraints (i.e., conservation laws) corresponding to heat and mass diffusion. Linear behavior in the near-equilibrium region as well as nonlinear behavior in the far-from-equilibrium region are discussed. Thermodynamic relations in the equilibrium and near-equilibrium realm, including the Gibbs relation, the Clausius inequality, and the Onsager relations, are generalized to the far-from-equilibrium realm. The variational principle in the space spanned by the intrinsic conjugate fluxes and forces is expressed via the quadratic dissipation potential. As an application, the model is applied to the heat and mass diffusion of a system represented by a single-particle ensemble, which can also be applied to a simple system of many particles. Phenomenological transport coefficients are also derived in the near-equilibrium realm.

Entropy production in mesoscopic stochastic thermodynamics: nonequilibrium kinetic cycles driven by chemical potentials, temperatures, and mechanical forces

Nonequilibrium thermodynamics (NET) investigates processes in systems out of global equilibrium. On a mesoscopic level, it provides a statistical dynamic description of various complex phenomena such as chemical reactions, ion transport, diffusion, thermochemical, thermomechanical and mechanochemical fluxes. In the present review, we introduce a mesoscopic stochastic formulation of NET by analyzing entropy production in several simple examples. The fundamental role of nonequilibrium steady-state cycle kinetics is emphasized. The statistical mechanics of Onsager's reciprocal relations in this context is elucidated. Chemomechanical, thermomechanical, and enzyme-catalyzed thermochemical energy transduction processes are discussed. It is argued that mesoscopic stochastic NET in phase space provides a rigorous mathematical basis of fundamental concepts needed for understanding complex processes in chemistry, physics and biology. This theory is also relevant for nanoscale technological advances.

Steepest-entropy-ascent quantum thermodynamic modeling of the relaxation process of isolated chemically reactive systems using density of states and the concept of hypoequilibrium state

This paper presents a study of the nonequilibrium relaxation process of chemically reactive systems using steepest-entropy-ascent quantum thermodynamics (SEAQT). The trajectory of the chemical reaction, i.e., the accessible intermediate states, is predicted and discussed. The prediction is made using a thermodynamic-ensemble approach, which does not require detailed information about the particle mechanics involved (e.g., the collision of particles). Instead, modeling the kinetics and dynamics of the relaxation process is based on the principle of steepest-entropy ascent (SEA) or maximum-entropy production, which suggests a constrained gradient dynamics in state space. The SEAQT framework is based on general definitions for energy and entropy and at least theoretically enables the prediction of the nonequilibrium relaxation of system state at all temporal and spatial scales. However, to make this not just theoretically but computationally possible, the concept of density of states is introduced to simplify the application of the relaxation model, which in effect extends the application of the SEAQT framework even to infinite energy eigenlevel systems. The energy eigenstructure of the reactive system considered here consists of an extremely large number of such levels (on the order of 10^{130}) and yields to the quasicontinuous assumption. The principle of SEA results in a unique trajectory of system thermodynamic state evolution in Hilbert space in the nonequilibrium realm, even far from equilibrium. To describe this trajectory, the concepts of subsystem hypoequilibrium state and temperature are introduced and used to characterize each system-level, nonequilibrium state. This definition of temperature is fundamental rather than phenomenological and is a generalization of the temperature defined at stable equilibrium. In addition, to deal with the large number of energy eigenlevels, the equation of motion is formulated on the basis of the density of states and a set of associated degeneracies. Their significance for the nonequilibrium evolution of system state is discussed. For the application presented, the numerical method used is described and is based on the density of states, which is specifically developed to solve the SEAQT equation of motion. Results for different kinds of initial nonequilibrium conditions, i.e., those for gamma and Maxwellian distributions, are studied. The advantage of the concept of hypoequilibrium state in studying nonequilibrium trajectories is discussed.

Entropy production and the geometry of dissipative evolution equations

Purely dissipative evolution equations are often cast as gradient flow structures, z ̇=K(z)DS(z), where the variable z of interest evolves towards the maximum of a functional S according to a metric defined by an operator K. While the functional often follows immediately from physical considerations (e.g., the thermodynamic entropy), the operator K and the associated geometry does not necessarily do so (e.g., Wasserstein geometry for diffusion). In this paper, we present a variational statement in the sense of maximum entropy production that directly delivers a relationship between the operator K and the constraints of the system. In particular, the Wasserstein metric naturally arises here from the conservation of mass or energy, and depends on the Onsager resistivity tensor, which, itself, may be understood as another metric, as in the steepest entropy ascent formalism. This variational principle is exemplified here for the simultaneous evolution of conserved and nonconserved quantities in open systems. It thus extends the classical Onsager flux-force relationships and the associated variational statement to variables that do not have a flux associated to them. We further show that the metric structure K is intimately linked to the celebrated Freidlin-Wentzell theory of stochastically perturbed gradient flows, and that the proposed variational principle encloses an infinite-dimensional fluctuation-dissipation statement.

Reductions and extensions in mesoscopic dynamics

Reduction of a mesoscopic level to a level with fewer details is made by the time evolution during which the entropy increases. An extension of a mesoscopic level is a construction of a level with more details. In particular, we discuss extensions in which extra state variables are found in the vector fields appearing on the level that we want to extend. Reductions, extensions, and compatibility relations among them are formulated first in an abstract setting and then illustrated in specific mesoscopic theories.

Essential equivalence of the general equation for the nonequilibrium reversible-irreversible coupling (GENERIC) and steepest-entropy-ascent models of dissipation for nonequilibrium thermodynamics

By reformulating the steepest-entropy-ascent (SEA) dynamical model for nonequilibrium thermodynamics in the mathematical language of differential geometry, we compare it with the primitive formulation of the general equation for the nonequilibrium reversible-irreversible coupling (GENERIC) model and discuss the main technical differences of the two approaches. In both dynamical models the description of dissipation is of the "entropy-gradient" type. SEA focuses only on the dissipative, i.e., entropy generating, component of the time evolution, chooses a sub-Riemannian metric tensor as dissipative structure, and uses the local entropy density field as potential. GENERIC emphasizes the coupling between the dissipative and nondissipative components of the time evolution, chooses two compatible degenerate structures (Poisson and degenerate co-Riemannian), and uses the global energy and entropy functionals as potentials. As an illustration, we rewrite the known GENERIC formulation of the Boltzmann equation in terms of the square root of the distribution function adopted by the SEA formulation. We then provide a formal proof that in more general frameworks, whenever all degeneracies in the GENERIC framework are related to conservation laws, the SEA and GENERIC models of the dissipative component of the dynamics are essentially interchangeable, provided of course they assume the same kinematics. As part of the discussion, we note that equipping the dissipative structure of GENERIC with the Leibniz identity makes it automatically SEA on metric leaves.

Time reversal in nonequilibrium thermodynamics

The general equation of nonequilibrium reversible-irreversible coupling (GENERIC) is studied in light of time-reversal transformation. It is shown that Onsager-Casimir reciprocal relations are implied by GENERIC in the near-equilibrium regime. A general structure which gives the reciprocal relations but which is valid also far from equilibrium is identified, and Onsager-Casimir reciprocal relations are generalized to far-from-equilibrium regime in this sense. Moreover, reversibility and irreversibility are carefully discussed and the results are illustrated in Hamiltonian dynamics, classical hydrodynamics, classical irreversible thermodynamics, the quantum master equation, and the Boltzmann equation.

Steepest entropy ascent model for far-nonequilibrium thermodynamics: unified implementation of the maximum entropy production principle

By suitable reformulations, we cast the mathematical frameworks of several well-known different approaches to the description of nonequilibrium dynamics into a unified formulation valid in all these contexts, which extends to such frameworks the concept of steepest entropy ascent (SEA) dynamics introduced by the present author in previous works on quantum thermodynamics. Actually, the present formulation constitutes a generalization also for the quantum thermodynamics framework. The analysis emphasizes that in the SEA modeling principle a key role is played by the geometrical metric with respect to which to measure the length of a trajectory in state space. In the near-thermodynamic-equilibrium limit, the metric tensor is directly related to the Onsager's generalized resistivity tensor. Therefore, through the identification of a suitable metric field which generalizes the Onsager generalized resistance to the arbitrarily far-nonequilibrium domain, most of the existing theories of nonequilibrium thermodynamics can be cast in such a way that the state exhibits the spontaneous tendency to evolve in state space along the path of SEA compatible with the conservation constraints and the boundary conditions. The resulting unified family of SEA dynamical models is intrinsically and strongly consistent with the second law of thermodynamics. The non-negativity of the entropy production is a general and readily proved feature of SEA dynamics. In several of the different approaches to nonequilibrium description we consider here, the SEA concept has not been investigated before. We believe it defines the precise meaning and the domain of general validity of the so-called maximum entropy production principle. Therefore, it is hoped that the present unifying approach may prove useful in providing a fresh basis for effective, thermodynamically consistent, numerical models and theoretical treatments of irreversible conservative relaxation towards equilibrium from far nonequilibrium states. The mathematical frameworks we consider are the following: (A) statistical or information-theoretic models of relaxation; (B) small-scale and rarefied gas dynamics (i.e., kinetic models for the Boltzmann equation); (C) rational extended thermodynamics, macroscopic nonequilibrium thermodynamics, and chemical kinetics; (D) mesoscopic nonequilibrium thermodynamics, continuum mechanics with fluctuations; and (E) quantum statistical mechanics, quantum thermodynamics, mesoscopic nonequilibrium quantum thermodynamics, and intrinsic quantum thermodynamics.

Mass flux in extended and classical hydrodynamics

In classical hydrodynamics, the mass flux is universally chosen to be the momentum field. In extended hydrodynamics, the mass flux acquires different terms. The extended hydrodynamics introduced and investigated in this paper uses a one-particle distribution function as the extra state variable chosen to characterize the microstructure. We prove that the extended hydrodynamics is fully autonomous in the sense that it is compatible with thermodynamics (i.e., the entropy does not decrease during the time evolution) and with mechanics (i.e., the part of the time evolution that leaves the entropy unchanged is Hamiltonian). Subsequently, we investigate its possible reductions. In some situations the emerging reduced dynamical theory is the classical hydrodynamics that is fully autonomous (i.e., all the structure that makes the extended theory fully autonomous is kept in the reduced theory). In other situations (for example, when the fluids under investigation have large density gradients) the reduced theories are not fully autonomous. In such a case the reduced theories constitute a family of mutually related dynamical theories (each of them involving a different amount of detail) that we consider to be a mathematical formulation of multiscale (or multilevel) hydrodynamics. It is in the reduced theories belonging to the multiscale hydrodynamics where the terms that emerge in the mass flux take the form of self-diffusion.