Loss of Physical Reversibility in Reversible Systems

DOI10.1016/J.PHYSD.2020.132515MaRDI QIDQ6319445arXivFDO

Authors Amir Sagiv, A. Ditkowski, Roy H. Goodman, Gadi Fibich

Publication date 27 May 2019

Published in arXiv

Full work available at URL https://doi.org/10.1016/J.PHYSD.2020.132515

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Soliton solutions (35C08) Time-dependent Schrödinger equations and Dirac equations (35Q41) KdV equations (Korteweg-de Vries equations) (35Q53) NLS equations (nonlinear Schrödinger equations) (35Q55) Lasers, masers, optical bistability, nonlinear optics (78A60) Radiative heat transfer (80A21)

arXiv classification

math.APphysics.optics

Abstract: A dynamical system is said to be reversible if, given an output, the input can always be recovered in a well-posed manner. Nevertheless, we argue that reversible systems that have a time-reversal symmetry, such as the Nonlinear Schr{"o}dinger equation and the $ph{i}^4$ equation can become "physically irreversible". By this, we mean that realistically-small experimental errors in measuring the output can lead to dramatic differences between the recovered input and the original one. The loss of reversibility reveals a natural "arrow of time", reminiscent of the thermodynamic one, which is the direction in which the radiation is emitted outward. Our results are relevant to imaging and reversal applications in nonlinear optics.

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