Time-resolved statistics of snippets as general framework for model-free entropy estimators

Jann van der Meer, Julius Degünther, Udo Seifert

Published 2022-11-30Version 1

Irreversibility is commonly quantified by entropy production. An external observer can estimate it through measuring an observable that is antisymmetric under time-reversal like a current. We introduce a general framework that, inter alia, allows us to infer a lower bound on entropy production through measuring the time-resolved statistics of events with any symmetry under time-reversal, in particular, time-symmetric instantaneous events. We emphasize Markovianity as a property of certain events rather than of the full system and introduce an operationally accessible criterion for this weakened Markov property. Conceptually, the approach is based on snippets as particular sections of trajectories, for which a generalized detailed balance relation is discussed.