Jos Uffink (University of Minnesota)
Two of the most outstanding problems in statistical physics are: (i) the problem to account for the time-reversal asymmetry of macroscopic systems vis-a-vis the time-reversal symmetry of the underlying microphysical laws, and (ii) the relative autonomy of macroscopic laws with respect to the microscopic state specification. This talk will review various approaches in statistical physics that have been designed to deal with open systems such as as stochastic dynamics and the Nakajima-Zwanzig projector formalism, and analyze in what sense one can say that they successfully solve these problems.
