We study the steady state of the abelian sandpile models with stochastic toppling rules. The particle addition operators commute with each other, but in general these operators need not be diagonalizable. We use their abelian algebra to determine their eigenvalues, and the Jordan block structure. These are then used to determine the probability of different configurations in the steady state. We illustrate this procedure by explicitly determining the numerically exact steady state for a one dimensional example, for systems of size $\le12$, and also study the density profile in the steady state.
We present large scale simulations of a stochastic sandpile model in two dimensions. We use moments analysis to evaluate critical exponents and finite size scaling method to consistently test the obtained results. The general picture resulting from our analysis allows us to characterize the large scale behavior of the present model with great accuracy.
We perform large scale numerical simulations of a directed version of the two-state stochastic sandpile model. Numerical results show that this stochastic model defines a new universality class with respect to the Abelian directed sandpile. The physical origin of the different critical behavior has to be ascribed to the presence of multiple topplings in the stochastic model. These results provide new insights onto the long debated question of universality in abelian and stochastic sandpiles.
In the rotational sandpile model, either the clockwise or the anti-clockwise toppling rule is assigned to all the lattice sites. It has all the features of a stochastic sandpile model but belongs to a different universality class than the Manna class. A crossover from rotational to Manna universality class is studied by constructing a random rotational sandpile model and assigning randomly clockwise and anti-clockwise rotational toppling rules to the lattice sites. The steady state and the respective critical behaviour of the present model are found to have a strong and continuous dependence o…
We study fixed density sandpiles in which the number of particles transferred to a neighbor on relaxing an active site is determined stochastically by a parameter $p$. Using an argument, the critical density at which an active-absorbing transition occurs is found exactly. We study the critical behavior numerically and find that the exponents associated with both static and time-dependent quantities vary continuously with $p$.
We provide a comprehensive view on the role of Abelian symmetry and stochasticity in the universality class of directed sandpile models, in context of the underlying spatial correlations of metastable patterns and scars. It is argued that the relevance of Abelian symmetry may depend on whether the dynamic rule is stochastic or deterministic, by means of the interaction of metastable patterns and avalanche flow. Based on the new scaling relations, we conjecture critical exponents for avalanche, which is confirmed reasonably well in large-scale numerical simulations.
We introduce and analytically solve a directed sandpile model with stochastic toppling rules. The model clearly belongs to a different universality class from its counterpart with deterministic toppling rules, previously solved by Dhar and Ramaswamy. The critical exponents are D_||=7/4, τ=10/7 in two dimensions and D_||=3/2, τ=4/3 in one dimension. The upper critical dimension of the model is three, at which the exponents apart from logarithmic corrections reach their mean-field values D_||=2, τ=3/2.
I develop n-site cluster approximations for a stochastic sandpile in one dimension. A height restriction is imposed to limit the number of states: each site can harbor at most two particles (height z_i \leq 2). (This yields a considerable simplification over the unrestricted case, in which the number of states per site is unbounded.) On the basis of results for n \leq 11 sites, I estimate the critical particle density as zeta_c = 0.930(1), in good agreement with simulations. A coherent anomaly analysis yields estimates for the order parameter exponent [beta = 0.41(1)] and the relaxation time e…
I report large-scale Monte Carlo studies of a one-dimensional height-restricted stochastic sandpile using the quasistationary simulation method. Results for systems of up to 50 000 sites yield estimates for critical exponents that differ significantly from those obtained using smaller systems, but are consistent with recent predictions derived from a Langevin equation for stochastic sandpiles [Ramasco et al., Phys. Rev. E{\bf 69}, 045105(R) (2004)]. This suggests that apparent violations of universality in one-dimensional sandpiles are due to strong corrections to scaling and finite-size effec…
We study a one-dimensional fixed-energy version (that is, with no input or loss of particles), of Manna's stochastic sandpile model. The system has a continuous transition to an absorbing state at a critical value $ζ_c$ of the particle density. Critical exponents are obtained from extensive simulations, which treat both stationary and transient properties. In contrast with other one-dimensional sandpiles, the model appears to exhibit finite-size scaling, though anomalies exist in the scaling of relaxation times and in the approach to the stationary state. The latter appear to depend strongly o…
We perform large-scale simulations of a two-dimensional restricted-height conserved stochastic sandpile, focusing on particle diffusion and mobility, and spatial correlations. Quasistationary (QS) simulations yield the critical particle density to high precision [$p_c = 0.7112687(2)$], and show that the diffusion constant scales in the same manner as the activity density, as found previously in the one-dimensional case. Short-time scaling is characterized by subdiffusive behavior (mean-square displacement $\sim t^γ$ with $γ< 1$), which is easily understood as a consequence of the initial decay…
We introduce a natural stochastic extension, called SSP, of the abelian sandpile model(ASM), which shares many mathematical properties with ASM, yet radically differs in its physical behavior, for example in terms of the shape of the steady state and of the avalanche size distribution. We establish a basic theory of SSP analogous to that of ASM, and present a brief numerical study of its behavior. Our original motivation for studying SSP stems from its connection to the LLL algorithm established in another work by the authors [5]. The importance of understanding how LLL works cannot be stresse…
We consider a stochastic sandpile where the sand-grains of unstable sites are randomly distributed to the nearest neighbors. Increasing the value of the threshold condition the stochastic character of the distribution is lost and a crossover to the scaling behavior of a different sandpile model takes place where the sand-grains are equally transferred to the nearest neighbors. The crossover behavior is numerically analyzed in detail, especially we consider the exponents which determine the scaling behavior.
We introduce a stochastic sandpile model where finite drive and dissipation are coupled to the activity field. The absorbing phase transition here, as expected, belongs to the directed percolation (DP) universality class. We focus on the small drive and dissipation limit, i.e. the so-called self-organised critical (SOC) regime and show that the system exhibits a crossover from ordinary DP scaling to a dissipation-controlled scaling which is independent of the underlying dynamics or spatial dimension. The new scaling regime continues all the way to the zero bulk drive limit suggesting that the …
Both the deterministic and stochastic sandpile models are studied on the percolation backbone, a random fractal, generated on a square lattice in $2$-dimensions. In spite of the underline random structure of the backbone, the deterministic Bak Tang Wiesenfeld (BTW) model preserves its positive time auto-correlation and multifractal behaviour due to its complete toppling balance, whereas the critical properties of the stochastic sandpile model (SSM) still exhibits finite size scaling (FSS) as it exhibits on the regular lattices. Analysing the topography of the avalanches, various scaling relati…
Simulations of a stochastic fixed-energy sandpile in one and two dimensions reveal slow relaxation of the order parameter, even far from the critical point. The decay of the activity is best described by a stretched-exponential form. The persistence probability (for a site not to have toppled up to time t), also exhibits stretched-exponential relaxation. The results suggest a connection between sandpile models and structural glasses.
In the stochastic sandpile model on a graph, particles interact pairwise as follows: if two particles occupy the same vertex, they must each take an independent random walk step with some probability $0<p<1$ of not moving. These interactions continue until each site has no more than one particle on it. We provide a formal coupling between the stochastic sandpile and the activated random walk models, and we use the coupling to show that for the stochastic sandpile with $n$ particles on the cycle graph $\mathbb{Z}_n,$ the system stabilizes in $O(n^3)$ time for all initial particle configurations…
We present some analytical results for the stochastic sandpile model, studied earlier by Manna. In this model, the operators corresponding to particle addition at different sites commute. The eigenvalues of operators satisfy a system of coupled polynomial equations. For an L X L square, we construct a nontrivial toppling invariant, and hence a ladder operator which acting on eigenvectors of evolution operator gives new eigenvectors with different eigenvalues. For periodic boundary conditions in one direction, one more toppling invariant can be constructed. We show that there are many forbidden…
We perform a computational study of a variant of the ``train'' model for earthquakes [PRA 46, 6288 (1992)], where we assume a static friction that is a stochastic function of position rather than being velocity dependent. The model consists of an array of blocks coupled by springs, with the forces between neighbouring blocks balanced by static friction. We calculate the probability, P(s), of the occurrence of avalanches with a size s or greater, finding that our results are consistent with the phenomenology and also with previous models which exhibit a power law over a wide range. We show that…
We have studied one-dimensional cellular automata with updating rules depending stochastically on the difference of the heights of neighbouring cells. The probability for toppling depends on a parameter lambda which goes to one with increasing slope, i.e. the dynamics can be varied continuously. We have investigated the scaling properties of the model using finite-size scaling analysis. A robust power-law behavior is observed for the probability density of the size of avalanches in a certain range of lambda values. The two exponents which determine the dependence of the probability density on …
We study conserved stochastic sandpiles (CSSs), which exhibit an active-absorbing phase transition upon tuning density $ρ$. We demonstrate that a broad class of CSSs possesses a remarkable hydrodynamic structure: There is an Einstein relation $σ^2(ρ) = χ(ρ)/D(ρ)$, which connects bulk-diffusion coefficient $D(ρ)$, conductivity $χ(ρ)$ and mass-fluctuation, or scaled variance of subsystem mass, $σ^2(ρ)$. Consequently, density large-deviations are governed by an equilibriumlike chemical potential $μ(ρ) \sim \ln a(ρ)$ where $a(ρ)$ is the activity in the system. Using the above hydrodynamics, we der…
We introduce an operator description for a stochastic sandpile model with a conserved particle density, and develop a path-integral representation for its evolution. The resulting (exact) expression for the effective action highlights certain interesting features of the model, for example, that it is nominally massless, and that the dynamics is via cooperative diffusion. Using the path-integral formalism, we construct a diagrammatic perturbation theory, yielding a series expansion for the activity density in powers of the time.
We derive the first four terms in a series for the order paramater (the stationary activity density rho) in the supercritical regime of a one-dimensional stochastic sandpile; in the two-dimensional case the first three terms are reported. We reorganize the pertubation theory for the model, recently derived using a path-integral formalism [R. Dickman e R. Vidigal, J. Phys. A 35, 7269 (2002)], to obtain an expansion for stationary properties. Since the process has a strictly conserved particle density p, the Fourier mode N^{-1} psi_{k=0} -> p, when the number of sites N -> infinity, and so is no…
Stochastic sandpiles self-organize to a critical point with scaling behavior different from directed percolation (DP) and characterized by the presence of an additional conservation law. This is usually called C-DP or Manna universality class. There remains, however, an exception to this universality principle: a sandpile automaton introduced by Maslov and Zhang, which was claimed to be in the directed percolation class despite of the existence of a conservation law. In this paper we show, by means of careful numerical simulations as well as by constructing and analyzing a field theory, that (…
We study diffusion of particles in large-scale simulations of one-dimensional stochastic sandpiles, in both the restricted and unrestricted versions. The results indicate that the diffusion constant scales in the same manner as the activity density, so that it represents an alternative definition of an order parameter. The critical behavior of the unrestricted sandpile is very similar to that of its restricted counterpart, including the fact that a data collapse of the order parameter as a function of the particle density is only possible over a very narrow interval near the critical point. We…
The Abelian sandpile model is the simplest analytically tractable model of self-organized criticality. This paper presents a brief review of known results about the model. The abelian group structure allows an exact calculation of many of its properties. In particular, one can calculate all the critical exponents for the directed model in all dimensions. For the undirected case, the model is related to q= 0 Potts model. This enables exact calculation of some exponents in two dimensions, and there are some conjectures about others. We also discuss a generalization of the model to a network of c…
A dissipative stochastic sandpile model is constructed and studied on small world networks in one and two dimensions with different shortcut densities $ϕ$, where $ϕ=0$ represents regular lattice and $ϕ=1$ represents random network. The effect of dimension, network topology and specific dissipation mode (bulk or boundary) on the the steady state critical properties of non-dissipative and dissipative avalanches along with all avalanches are analyzed. Though the distributions of all avalanches and non-dissipative avalanches display stochastic scaling at $ϕ=0$ and mean-field scaling at $ϕ=1$, the …
Using operator algebra, we extend the series for the activity density in a one-dimensional stochastic sandpile with fixed particle density p, the first terms of which were obtained via perturbation theory [R. Dickman and R. Vidigal, J. Phys. A35, 7269 (2002)]. The expansion is in powers of the time; the coefficients are polynomials in p. We devise an algorithm for evaluating expectations of operator products and extend the series to O(t^{16}). Constructing Pade approximants to a suitably transformed series, we obtain predictions for the activity that compare well against simulations, in the su…
Theaimofthepresentpaperistosuggestthatstatisticalphysicsprovides the correct language to understand the practical behavior of the LLL algorithm, most of which are left unexplained to this day. To this end, we propose sandpile models that imitate LLL with compelling accuracy, and prove for these models some of the most desired statements regarding LLL. We also formulate a few conjectures that formally capture our heuristics and would serve as milestones for further development of the theory.
We study distributions of dissipative and nondissipative avalanches in Manna's stochastic sandpile, in one and two dimensions. Our results lead to the following conclusions: (1) avalanche distributions, in general, do not follow simple power laws, but rather have the form $P(s) \sim s^{-τ_s} (\ln s)^γ f(s/s_c)$, with $f$ a cutoff function; (2) the exponents for sizes of dissipative avalanches in two dimensions differ markedly from the corresponding values for the Bak-Tang-Wiesenfeld (BTW) model, implying that the BTW and Manna models belong to distinct universality classes; (3) dissipative ava…
We show that the stochastic field theory for directed percolation in presence of an additional conservation law (the C-DP class) can be mapped exactly to the continuum theory for the depinning of an elastic interface in short-range correlated quenched disorder. On one line of parameters commonly studied, this mapping leads to the simplest overdamped dynamics. Away from this line, an additional memory term arises in the interface dynamics; we argue that it does not change the universality class. Since C-DP is believed to describe the Manna class of self-organized criticality, this shows that Ma…
The mechanism of self-organized criticality is based on a steady slow loading and a quick huge stress-release. We add the clustering of the events in space and time to the Bak-Tang-Wiesenfeld cellular automaton and obtain the truncated $1/x$ probability distribution of the events over their sizes.
In a model of self-organized criticality unstable sites discharge to just one of their neighbors. For constant discharge ratio $α$ and for a certain range of values of the input energy, avalanches are simple branchless Pólya random walks, and their scaling properties can be derived exactly. If $α$ fluctuates widely enough, avalanches become branched, due to multiple discharges, and behave like those of the stochastic sandpile. At the threshold for branched behaviour, peculiar scaling and anomalous diffusive transport are observed.
We study sandpile models with stochastic toppling rules and having sticky grains so that with a non-zero probability no toppling occurs, even if the local height of pile exceeds the threshold value. Dissipation is introduced by adding a small probability of particle loss at each toppling. Generically, for models with a preferred direction, the avalanche exponents are those of critical directed percolation clusters. For undirected models, avalanche exponents are those of directed percolation clusters in one higher dimension.
A dissipative stochastic sandpile model is constructed on one and two dimensional small-world networks with different shortcut densities $ϕ$ where $ϕ=0$ and $1$ represent a regular lattice and a random network respectively. In the small-world regime ($2^{-12} \le ϕ\le 0.1$), the critical behaviour of the model is explored studying different geometrical properties of the avalanches as a function of avalanche size $s$. For both the dimensions, three regions of $s$, separated by two crossover sizes $s_1$ and $s_2$ ($s_1<s_2$), are identified analyzing the scaling behaviour of average height and a…
We study numerically scaling properties of the distribution of cumulative energy dissipated in an avalanche and the dynamic phase transition in a stochastic directed cellular automaton [B. Tadić and D. Dhar, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 79}, 1519 (1997)] in d=1+1 dimensions. In the critical steady state occurring for the probability of toppling $p\ge p^\star$= 0.70548, the dissipated energy distribution exhibits scaling behavior with new scaling exponents $τ_E $ and D_E for slope and cut-off energy, respectively, indicating that the sandpile surface is a fractal. In contrast to avalanche exponents, t…
Guangdong Technion-Israel Institute of Technology(广东以色列理工学院);Technion-Israel Institute of Technology(以色列理工学院);Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Berhampur(印度科学教育研究所伯拉姆普尔分校)
In a previous paper [Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 014501 (2003)], the mechanism of "revolving rivers" for sandpile formation is reported: as a steady stream of dry sand is poured onto a horizontal surface, a pile forms which has a river of sand on one side owing from the apex of the pile to the edge of the base. For small piles the river is steady, or continuous. For larger piles, it becomes intermittent. In this paper we establish experimentally the "dynamical phase diagram" of the continuous and intermittent regimes, and give further details of the piles topography, improving the previous kinematic …
We derive and study two different formalisms used for non-equilibrium processes: The coherent-state path integral, and an effective, coarse-grained stochastic equation of motion. We first study the coherent-state path integral and the corresponding field theory, using the annihilation process $A+A\to A$ as an example. The field theory contains counter-intuitive quartic vertices. We show how they can be interpreted in terms of a first-passage problem. Reformulating the coherent-state path integral as a stochastic equation of motion, the noise generically becomes imaginary. This renders it not o…
We study an inhomogeneous sandpile model in which two different toppling rules are defined. For any site only one rule is applied corresponding to either the Bak, Tang and Wiesenfeld model {[}P.Bak, C. Tang, and K. Wiesenfeld, Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{59}, 381 (1987){]} or the Manna two-state sandpile model {[}S. S. Manna, J. Phys. A \textbf{24}, L363 (1991){]}. A parameter $c$ is introduced which describes a density of sites which are randomly deployed and where the stochastic Manna rules are applied. The results show that the avalanche area exponent $τ_{a}$, avalanche size exponent $τ_{s}$, …
We study a directed stochastic sandpile model of Self-Organized Criticality, which exhibits recurrent, multiple topplings, putting it in a separate universality class from the exactly solved model of Dhar and Ramaswamy. We show that in the steady-state all stable states are equally likely. Then we explicitly derive a discrete dynamical equation for avalanches on the lattice. By coarse-graining we arrive at a continuous Langevin equation for the propagation of avalanches and calculate all the critical exponents characterizing them. The avalanche equation is similar to the Edwards-Wilkinson equa…
The Abelian Sandpile Model is a cellular automaton whose discrete dynamics reaches an out-of-equilibrium steady state resembling avalanches in piles of sand. The fundamental moves defining the dynamics are encoded by the toppling rules. The transition monoid corresponding to this dynamics in the set of stable configurations is abelian, a property which seems at the basis of our understanding of the model. By including also antitoppling rules, we introduce and investigate a larger monoid, which is not abelian anymore. We prove a number of algebraic properties of this monoid, and describe their …
The recently proposed Langevin equation, aimed to capture the relevant critical features of stochastic sandpiles, and other self-organizing systems is studied numerically. This equation is similar to the Reggeon field theory, describing generic systems with absorbing states, but it is coupled linearly to a second conserved and static (non-diffusive) field. It has been claimed to represent a new universality class, including different discrete models: the Manna as well as other sandpiles, reaction-diffusion systems, etc. In order to integrate the equation, and surpass the difficulties associate…
We consider patterns generated by adding large number of sand grains at a single site in an abelian sandpile model with a periodic initial configuration, and relaxing. The patterns show proportionate growth. We study the robustness of these patterns against different types of noise, \textit{viz.}, randomness in the point of addition, disorder in the initial periodic configuration, and disorder in the connectivity of the underlying lattice. We find that the patterns show a varying degree of robustness to addition of a small amount of noise in each case. However, introducing stochasticity in the…
In the single-source sandpile model, a number $N$ grains of sand are positioned at a central vertex on the 2-dimensional grid $\mathbb{Z}^2$. We study the stabilisation of this configuration for a stochastic sandpile model based on a parameter $M \in \mathbb{N}$. In this model, if a vertex has at least $4M$ grains of sand, it topples, sending $k$ grains of sand to each of its four neighbours, where $k$ is drawn according to some random distribution $γ$ with support $\{1,\cdots,M\}$. Topplings continue, a new random number $k$ being drawn each time, until we reach a stable configuration where a…
We investigate sandpile models where the updating of unstable columns is done according to a stochastic rule. We examine the effect of introducing nonlocal relaxation mechanisms. We find that the models self-organize into critical states that belong to three different universality classes. The models with local relaxation rules belong to a known universality class that is characterized by an avalanche exponent $τ\approx 1.55$, whereas the models with nonlocal relaxation rules belong to new universality classes characterized by exponents $τ\approx 1.35$ and $τ\approx 1.63$. We discuss the value…
A driven stochastic system in a constant temperature heat bath relaxes into a steady state which is characterized by the steady state probability distribution. We investigate the relationship between the driving force and the steady state probability distribution. We adopt the force decomposition method in which the force is decomposed as the sum of a gradient of a steady state potential and the remaining part. The decomposition method allows one to find a set of force fields each of which is compatible to a given steady state. Such a knowledge provides a useful insight on stochastic systems e…
We show that current fluctuations in a stochastic pump can be robustly mapped to fluctuations in a corresponding time-independent nonequilibrium steady state. We thus refine a recently proposed mapping so that it ensures equivalence of not only the averages, but also optimal representation of fluctuations in currents and density. Our mapping leads to a natural decomposition of the entropy production in stochastic pumps similar to the "housekeeping" heat. As a consequence of the decomposition of entropy production, the current fluctuations in weakly perturbed stochastic pumps are shown to satis…
The non-ergodic behavior of the deterministic Fixed Energy Sandpile (DFES), with Bak-Tang-Wiesenfeld (BTW) rule, is explained by the complete characterization of a class of dynamical invariants (or toppling invariants). The link between such constants of motion and the discrete Laplacian's properties on graphs is algebraically and numerically clarified. In particular, it is possible to build up an explicit algorithm determining the complete set of independent toppling invariants. The partition of the configuration space into dynamically invariant sets, and the further refinement of such a part…
We explore two- and three-state Markov models driven out of thermal equilibrium by non-potential forces to demonstrate basic properties of the steady heat capacity based on the concept of quasistatic excess heat. It is shown that large enough driving forces can make the steady heat capacity negative. For both the low- and high-temperature regimes we propose an approximative thermodynamic scheme in terms of "dynamically renormalized" effective energy levels.
We study a stochastic process defined by the interaction strength for the return to the mean and a stochastic term proportional to the magnitude of the variable. Its steady-state distribution is the Inverse Gamma distribution, whose power-law tail exponent is determined by the ratio of the interaction strength to stochasticity. Its time-dependence is characterized by a set of discrete times describing relaxation of respective cumulants to their steady-state values. We show that as the progressively lower cumulants diverge with the increase of stochasticity, so do their relaxation times. We ana…
The abelian sandpile serves as a model to study self-organized criticality, a phenomenon occurring in biological, physical and social processes. The identity of the abelian group is a fractal composed of self-similar patches, and its limit is subject of extensive collaborative research. Here, we analyze the evolution of the sandpile identity under harmonic fields of different orders. We show that this evolution corresponds to periodic cycles through the abelian group characterized by the smooth transformation and apparent conservation of the patches constituting the identity. The dynamics indu…
Stochastic processes that are randomly reset to an initial condition serve as a showcase to investigate non-equilibrium steady states. However, all existing results have been restricted to the special case of memoryless resetting protocols. Here, we obtain the general solution for the distribution of processes in which waiting times between reset events are drawn from an arbitrary distribution. This allows for the investigation of a broader class of much more realistic processes. As an example, our results are applied to the analysis of the efficiency of constrained random search processes.
We examine stochastic processes that are used to model nonequilibrium processes (e.g, pulling RNA or dragging colloids) and so deliberately violate detailed balance. We argue that by combining an information-theoretic measure of irreversibility with nonequilibrium work theorems, the thermal physics implied by abstract dynamics can be determined. This measure is bounded above by thermodynamic entropy production and so may quantify how well a stochastic dynamics models reality. We also use our findings to critique various modeling approaches and notions arising in steady-state thermodynamics.
We explore the idea that non-equilibrium steady states breaking detailed balance are obtained by deforming trajectories (lines in space-time) that have been sampled in a reference system with stochastic dynamics obeying detailed balance, and we ask for the work required to perform this task. These geometric deformations are not arbitrary but arise through interactions with the environment, either the manipulation of conserved quantities by an external agent, or by their exchange with a work reservoir. This view allows to consistently model the breaking of detailed balance and the accompanying …
We establish a correspondence between two very general paradigms for systems that persist away from thermal equilibrium. In the first paradigm, a nonequilibrium steady state (NESS) is maintained by applying fixed thermodynamic forces that break detailed balance. In the second paradigm, known as a stochastic pump (SP), a time-periodic state is maintained by the periodic variation of a system's external parameters. In both cases, currents are generated and entropy is produced. Restricting ourselves to discrete-state systems, we establish a mapping between these scenarios. Given a NESS characteri…
We derive a simple closed analytical expression for the total entropy production along a single stochastic trajectory of a Brownian particle diffusing on a periodic potential under an external constant force. By numerical simulations we compute the probability distribution functions of the entropy and satisfactorily test many of the predictions based on Seifert's integral fluctuation theorem. The results presented for this simple model clearly illustrate the practical features and implications derived from such a result of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics.