Žiga Krajnik: Spontaneous breaking of fluctuation symmetry

One of the most general results of non-equilibrium statistical physics is the fluctuation symmetry, which relates the probabilities of forwards and backward fluctuations even far away from equilibrium. We present a novel mechanism that generates dynamical phase transitions, which spontaneously break the fluctuation symmetry. Moreover, the same mechanism leads to universal non-Gaussian typical fluctuations in equilibrium.

An attempt at a pedagogical presentation will be made.