caa a22 4500 467893381 CHVBK 20180406152755.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170328e20061001xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s10955-006-9195-7 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s10955-006-9195-7 Open Systems Viewed Through Their Conservative Extensions [Elektronische Daten] [Alexander Figotin, Stephen Shipman] A typical linear open system is often defined as a component of a larger conservative one. For instance, a dielectric medium, defined by its frequency dependent electric permittivity and magnetic permeability is a part of a conservative system which includes the matter with all its atomic complexity. A finite slab of a lattice array of coupled oscillators modelling a solid is another example. Assuming that such an open system is all one wants to observe, we ask how big a part of the original conservative system (possibly very complex) is relevant to the observations, or, in other words, how big a part of it is coupled to the open system? We study here the structure of the system coupling and its coupled and decoupled components, showing, in particular, that it is only the systemrsquo;s unique minimal extension that is relevant to its dynamics, and this extension often is tiny part of the original conservative system. We also give a scenario explaining why certain degrees of freedom of a solid do not contribute to its specific heat. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 2006 open systems nationallicence time-dispersive dissipative media nationallicence conservative systems nationallicence spectral theory nationallicence Figotin Alexander University of California at Irvine, Irvine, USA aut Shipman Stephen Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge, USA aut Journal of Statistical Physics Kluwer Academic Publishers-Plenum Publishers; http://www.springer-ny.com 125/2(2006-10-01), 359-409 0022-4715 125:2<359 2006 125 10955 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10955-006-9195-7 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10955-006-9195-7 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Figotin Alexander University of California at Irvine, Irvine, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Shipman Stephen Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Journal of Statistical Physics Kluwer Academic Publishers-Plenum Publishers; http://www.springer-ny.com 125/2(2006-10-01), 359-409 0022-4715 125:2<359 2006 125 10955 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer