Applications of harmonic mappings in linear nonequilibrium thermodynamics. (Chinese. English summary) Zbl 0964.80501
Summary: A kind of linear nonequilibrium thermodynamical system is considered as a harmonic mapping. We generalize the Onsager coefficients from constants to functions of the state variables, and apply harmonic mapping theory to deal with the steady state and stability of the steady state in the system. By means of harmonic mapping theory, we give a criterion for judging the stability of the steady state and discuss the relation between these results and the minimum entropy production theorem.