Unifying fluctuation-dissipation temperatures of slow-evolving nonequilibrium systems from the perspective of inherent structures

For nonequilibrium systems, how to define temperature is one of the key and difficult issues to solve. Although effective temperatures have been proposed and studied to this end, it still remains elusive what they actually are. Here, we focus on the fluctuation-dissipation temperatures and report that such effective temperatures of slow-evolving systems represent characteristic temperatures of their equilibrium counterparts. By calculating the fluctuation-dissipation relation of inherent structures, we obtain a temperature- like quantity T-IS. For monocomponent crystal-formers, T-IS agrees well with the crystallization temperature T-c, while it matches with the onset temperature T-on for glass-formers. It also agrees with effective temperatures of typical nonequilibrium systems, such as aging glasses, quasi- static shear flows, and quasi-static self-propelled flows. From the unique perspective of inherent structures, our study reveals the nature of effective temperatures and the underlying connections between nonequilibrium and equilibrium systems and confirms the equivalence between T-on and T-c.

Automated summary

This study explores the definition of temperature for nonequilibrium systems, focusing on fluctuation-dissipation temperatures and proposing that they represent characteristic temperatures of their equilibrium counterparts. By calculating the fluctuation-dissipation relation of inherent structures, a temperature-like quantity T-IS is obtained, which matches with crystallization temperature T-c for crystal-formers and onset temperature T-on for glass-formers. The research reveals the nature of effective temperatures, the connections between nonequilibrium and equilibrium systems, and confirms the equivalence between T-on and T-c.