Thermostats,constants of motion and heat in nonequilibrium statistical
mechanics
Thermostats are a contrivance designed to keep
temperature constant in regions with which a system subject to
nonconservative forces is in contact. In nonequilibrium statistical
mechanics thermostat models can be Hamiltonian and infinite or
artificial and finite. The problem examined is the equivalence between
some Hamiltonian and artificial model: the artificial models
considered are not the stochastic thermostats but the iso-ernergetic
or isokinetic thermostats which introduce artificial forces to
maintain the constrained temperatures: such thermostats are
interesting because they are employed in simulations leading to recent
developments in nonequilibrium theory. Connection heat conduction and
Fourier law might find a place in the talk if time permits.