Fig. 1
From: Experimental evidence of symmetry breaking of transition-path times
Conditional exit- and direct transition-path times and pathway multiplicity with and without detailed balance. a The exit-path time τ to a given exit from a spatial interval is defined as the time of first-passage of that boundary (dotted line) before other boundaries are reached after initialization within the interval. b Transition-path times τtr between the boundaries of an interval are first-passage times of trajectories that start from one boundary and directly reach the opposite boundary. Trajectories that return to the same boundary (see grey trajectory) are not counted. As we explain in the text, we deliberately named the transition-path boundaries xL and xR to distinguish them from exit-path boundaries. c Illustration of (mean) transition pathways (arrows) in potential landscapes with two coordinates and a single pathway. d Sketch of out-of-equilibrium transitions that follow the same pathways and consequently do not break detailed balance. e Sketch of transitions that are time symmetric in equilibrium, despite pathway multiplicity. f The transition-path time symmetry may break down if transition paths diversify out of equilibrium
