It is always some constraint that yields any nontrivial structure from statistical averages. As epitomized by the Boltzmann distribution, the energy conservation is often the principal constraint acting on mechanical systems. Here we investigate a different type: the topological constraint imposed on “space.” Such a constraint emerges from the null space of the Poisson operator linking an energy gradient to phase space velocity and appears as an adiabatic invariant altering the preserved phase space volume at the core of statistical mechanics. The correct measure of entropy, built on the distorted invariant measure, behaves consistently with the second law of thermodynamics. The opposite behavior (decreasing entropy and negative entropy production) arises in arbitrary coordinates. An ensemble of rotating rigid bodies is worked out. The theory is then applied to up-hill diffusion in a magnetosphere.

• Received 15 March 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.93.062140