Oscillations and multiscale dynamics in a closed chemical reaction system: Second law of thermodynamics and temporal complexity

We investigate the oscillatory reaction dynamics in a closed isothermal chemical system: the reversible Lotka-Volterra model. The second law of thermodynamics dictates that the system ultimately reaches an equilibrium. Quasistationary oscillations are analyzed while the free energy of the system serves as a global Lyapunov function of the dissipative dynamics. A natural distinction between regions near and far from equilibrium in terms of the free energy can be established. The dynamics is analogous to a nonlinear mechanical system with time-dependent increasing damping. Near equilibrium, no oscillation is possible as dictated by Onsager's reciprocal symmetry relation. We observe that while the free energy decreases in the closed system's dynamics, it does not follow the steepest descending path. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.2995855]