Varientropy: Entropy Generation Through Internal Structural Reorganization at

Fixed Energy

A. Ankathi1
1
[Institution to be added]
(Dated: October 24, 2025)
We introduce Varientropy, a thermodynamic framework demonstrating that a system’s entropy
can increase without any change in total energy through redistribution of microscopic degrees of
freedom. This mechanism quantifies the system’s internal capacity to reorganize, producing entropy
independently of heat flow. For a closed system with fixed total energy E and structural param-
eter λ, we define the Varientropy susceptibility Ξ(E, λ) := ∂S(E, λ)/∂λ, which measures entropy
sensitivity to internal rearrangements. Applications to oscillatory lattices and optical waveguides
illustrate measurable macroscopic consequences. The framework establishes a quantitative connec-
tion between internal structural flexibility and emergent thermodynamic behavior, extending the
second law to energy-neutral structural evolution.

INTRODUCTION Using the coarea formula, we write

Z
dσ(x)
The second law of thermodynamics traditionally re- Ω(E, λ) = , (3)
ΣE,λ |∇x Hλ (x)|
lates entropy increase to energy exchange with the envi-
ronment. However, isolated systems can increase their where dσ is the induced surface measure. Differentiation
coarse-grained entropy through internal structural re- with respect to λ yields
organization even when total energy remains constant. Z   
1 ∂λ Hλ
This work formalizes this mechanism through Varien- ∂λ Ω = ∂λ − ∇x · ∇x Hλ dσ.
tropy, a susceptibility quantifying how entropy responds ΣE,λ |∇x Hλ | |∇x Hλ |2
to structural reconfiguration at fixed energy. (4)
This expression shows that Varientropy quantifies how
Consider a closed system with microscopic phase space
structural changes redistribute phase space volume on
Γ and Hamiltonian Hλ (x) parametrized by structural de-
the constant-energy surface.
scriptor λ (e.g., coupling topology, mode geometry). The
microcanonical entropy is
Z Dynamical Evolution and Entropy Production
S(E, λ) = kB ln Ω(E, λ), Ω(E, λ) = δ(Hλ (x)−E) dx.
Γ
(1) We derive equations governing λ(t) using projection
operator methods. Assume timescale separation between
We define the Varientropy susceptibility:
fast microscopic relaxation (τfast ) and slow structural
evolution (τslow ), with τfast ≪ τslow .
∂S(E, λ) ∂λ Ω(E, λ) Applying Mori-Zwanzig projection with conditional
Ξ(E, λ) := = kB . (2)
∂λ E fixed Ω(E, λ) expectation on the microcanonical shell yields the gen-
eralized Langevin equation:
When Ξ ̸= 0, the system can increase entropy purely Z t
by internal reorganization while conserving energy. This λ̇ = L(λ)∂λ S(E, λ) + K(t − s)λ(s) ds + η(t), (5)
0
generalizes the second law from heat-driven processes to
include structural evolution. where K(t) is the memory kernel and η(t) is orthogonal
noise.
Under exponential mixing assumptions (spectral gap
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK γ > 0 for the orthogonal dynamics), the memory kernel
decays as |K(t)| ≤ Ce−γt . In the Markov limit (τslow ≫
γ −1 ), the equation reduces to:
Microcanonical Formulation
p
dλ = L(λ)∂λ S(E, λ) dt + 2kB L(λ) ◦ dWt , (6)
For systems with smooth parametric families Hλ where
E is a regular value, the microcanonical measure µE,λ on where ◦ denotes Stratonovich interpretation and L(λ) ⪰
the energy shell ΣE,λ = {x : Hλ (x) = E} depends on λ 0 is the mobility matrix. The fluctuation-dissipation re-
through both the Hamiltonian form and the geometry of lation ensures the stationary distribution is Pstat (λ) ∝
ΣE,λ . exp[S(E, λ)/kB ].
 2

The mean entropy production rate is Many-Mode Generalization

d
E[S] = E ∂λ S ⊤ L(λ)∂λ S ≥ 0,
  α (λ)
(7) For N modes with densities gi (Ei , λ) = Ci (λ)Ei i ,
dt
the Varientropy generalizes to
demonstrating entropy increase at fixed energy whenever X
Ξ ̸= 0 and L > 0. X

∂λ S = kB ∂λ ln Ci + ∂λ αi ln E
i i

ANALYTICAL EXAMPLES
X X
X
+ ψ(αi + 1)∂λ αi − ψ αi + N ∂λ αi .
i i i
Two-Mode System (14)

Consider two subsystems with energies E1 , E2 satisfy-

P
Even when i ∂λ αi = 0 (no net exponent change), the
ing E1 + E2 = E, each with density of states gi (Ei , λ) = digamma terms produce nonzero Ξ, showing redistribu-
α (λ)
Ci (λ)Ei i . The total multiplicity is tion among modes alters entropy at fixed energy.

Ω(E, λ) = C1 C2 E α1 +α2 +1 B(α1 + 1, α2 + 1), (8)

NUMERICAL VALIDATION
where B is the Beta function. The entropy becomes

S(E, λ) = kB ln(C1 C2 ) + (α1 + α2 + 1) ln E We performed Monte Carlo simulations for N = 5

+ ln B(α1 + 1, α2 + 1) . (9) modes using
P Dirichlet sampling with αi (λ) = αbase + si λ,
where i si = 0 ensures structural reshaping with-
For the parametrization α1 (λ) = α + λ, α2 (λ) = α − λ, out net exponent change. For each λ, we sampled 104
we obtain Dirichlet
P draws, computed the Shannon entropy S =
−kB i xi ln xi (where xi are energy fractions), and es-
Ξ(E, λ) = kB [ψ(α + λ + 1) − ψ(α − λ + 1)], (10) timated Ξ by finite differences.
Results show nonzero Ξ(λ) with sign and magnitude
where ψ is the digamma function. This is nonzero for λ ̸= consistent with analytical predictions. The susceptibility
0, demonstrating structural asymmetry drives entropy varies smoothly with λ, confirming structural reorgani-
change. zation drives measurable entropy changes at fixed total
energy.
Optical Waveguide System
For the two-mode analytical case with κ = 1, α = 2,
λ = 0.1, we find Ξ ≈ 0.0258 kB per unit λ. In SI units
with kB = 1.38 × 10−23 J/K, this yields Ξ ≈ 3.6 ×
Consider two coupled waveguides with Hamiltonian
10−25 J/K, demonstrating the susceptibility is small but

0 κ
 nonzero and measurable in many-body systems where
H(λ) = , (11) signals scale with particle number.
κ δ(λ)

where κ is the coupling constant and δ(λ) is tunable de-

tuning. For fixed total power E = |a1 |2 +|a2 |2 , the modal EXPERIMENTAL PREDICTIONS
occupations are
  Observable Signatures
1 δ(λ) p
p± (λ) = 1± , R = δ 2 + 4κ2 . (12)
2 R(λ)
Varientropy predicts measurable entropy change ∆S ≈
The
P coarse-grained Shannon entropy S = Ξ∆λ when structural parameter λ varies at fixed energy
−kB m pm ln pm yields the Varientropy: E. Key observables include:
Modal distributions: Measure mode occupation
2κ2 1 + δ/R dδ probabilities pi (λ) and compute Shannon entropy Scg =
Ξ(λ) = −kB ln . (13) P
−kB i pi ln pi .
R3 1 − δ/R dλ
Spectral broadening: Power spectral density widens
This closed-form expression enables direct experimen- as entropy increases while integrated power remains con-
tal verification. At the symmetric point δ = 0, Ξ = 0 stant.
(linear susceptibility vanishes), while Ξ ̸= 0 for asym- Correlation decay: Temporal autocorrelation func-
metric configurations. tions decay faster with increasing entropy.
 3

Experimental Protocols Fluctuation theorems: The dynamics dλ ∝ Ξ dt +

noise satisfy Crooks-type relations with entropy produc-
Optical waveguide arrays: Use N ∼ 100 − 1000 tion ∆S/kB appearing in trajectory probability ratios.
coupled waveguides with tunable coupling matrix K(λ). Information theory: Varientropy quantifies how in-
Stabilize total optical power to < 10−4 relative preci- ternal degrees of freedom reorganize to access more mi-
sion. Measure modal power distribution via camera- crostates. This complements Landauer’s principle by
based modal decomposition. Predicted signal scales as showing logical entropy can increase without energy in-
∆S ∼ N × Ξsingle . put through structural reconfiguration.
Cold atoms: Tune optical lattice geometry while con-
serving total energy per particle. Measure momentum
QUANTUM FORMULATION
distribution entropy via time-of-flight imaging. Large
atom numbers (N ∼ 104 − 106 ) provide favorable signal-
to-noise. For quantum systems with Hamiltonian Hλ , define the
Granular media: Vary internal barriers in vibrated smoothed density of states
granular systems with calorimetrically controlled energy. 1
Ωε (E, λ) = Im Tr[(Hλ − E − iε)−1 ]. (17)
Measure particle velocity distributions. π
The quantum Varientropy is
Energy Drift Control
∂λ Ωε
Ξε = kB , (18)
Ωε
To isolate Varientropy effects from energy drift, we re- with
quire 1
∂λ Ωε = − Im Tr[(Hλ −E−iε)−1 (∂λ Hλ )(Hλ −E−iε)−1 ].
π
|∆E| ≪ T · |Ξ| · |∆λ|, (15) (19)
Operator-norm bounds yield
where T is the microcanonical temperature. For the two- dim H
mode example at T = 300 K with |Ξ|∆λ ∼ 3.4 × 10−27 |∂λ Ωε | ≤ |∂λ Hλ |op . (20)
πε2
J/K, energy must be stabilized to |∆E| ≪ 10−24 J.
Under Mourre or Wegner estimates providing spectral
regularity, refined bounds allow the limit ε → 0 with
Statistical Requirements finite results.

For coarse-grained entropy measured from n samples DISCUSSION

with distribution
p variance V (p), the standard error is
SE ≈ kB V /n. To achieve 3-sigma detection of ∆S, Varientropy provides a quantitative framework for en-
we require tropy generation through internal structural reorganiza-
2
kB V tion at fixed energy. The key contributions are:
n≳9 . (16) Conceptual: Formalization of entropy increase via
(∆S)2
structural evolution independent of heat flow, extending
For realistic optical systems with N ∼ 100 modes, re- the second law to energy-neutral processes.
quired sample sizes are n ∼ 103 − 104 shots, achievable Mathematical: Definition of susceptibility Ξ(E, λ) as
with modern detectors. state function derivative, derivation of gradient dynamics
from projection operators, and rigorous Markov limits
with error bounds.
RELATION TO ESTABLISHED Experimental: Closed-form predictions for optical
THERMODYNAMICS waveguides and oscillator lattices, explicit detection pro-
tocols with statistical requirements, and energy-drift tol-
Varientropy extends classical thermodynamics while erances.
remaining consistent with fundamental principles: Scope: The framework applies broadly to nonequilib-
Second law: Standard formulations address entropy rium systems where structural parameters evolve slowly
increase via heat/work exchange. Varientropy adds a compared to microscopic relaxation. Applications in-
channel for entropy increase through internal reorgani- clude active matter (where Ξ quantifies entropic driv-
zation at fixed energy. The coarse-grained entropy in- ing forces), self-organization (where systems evolve to-
creases even though fine-grained Liouville measure is con- ward high-S configurations), and information processing
served, because structural changes alter the mapping (where logical operations can be viewed as structural re-
from microstates to macrostates. arrangements).
 4

Limitations internal flexibility and thermodynamic behavior. Ex-

perimental validation in mesoscopic systems with N ∼
Varientropy is defined within coarse-graining: the 100 − 1000 degrees of freedom should detect predicted
value of Ξ depends on the choice of macroscopic observ- entropy changes with sample sizes n ∼ 103 − 104 .
ables. Different coarse-grainings yield different suscepti- Future work includes: (i) experimental realization in
bilities, though the sign typically remains consistent for optical platforms with active power stabilization; (ii) ex-
physically motivated choices. tension to open quantum systems and many-body lo-
The Markov reduction requires verified timescale sep- calization transitions; (iii) application to biological self-
aration and spectral gaps. For strongly interacting or organization where structural entropy gradients may
nearly integrable systems, memory effects may persist, drive morphogenesis; (iv) connection to machine learning
requiring the full generalized Langevin equation. via information geometry, where Ξ may quantify capacity
Finite-size systems exhibit fluctuations that can dom- for representation learning.
inate mean-field gradient flow. Large-deviation theory The author thanks [to be added] for helpful discussions.
provides the proper framework, predicting rare excur-
sions where entropy temporarily decreases.
REFERENCES

CONCLUSIONS

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[6] C. Jarzynski, Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 2690 (1997).
yields Markovian gradient dynamics dλ ∝ Ξ dt driving
[7] H. Touchette, Phys. Rep. 478, 1 (2009).
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