Reversibility and irreversibility from an initial value formulation

•A solution for the single particle distribution is studied for time symmetry.•An initial even momentum distribution produces time reversibility.•An initial odd momentum distribution results in irreversibility.•Loschmidtʼs paradox is generalized and explained.

From a time evolution equation for the single particle distribution function derived from the N-particle distribution function (A. Muriel, M. Dresden, Physica D 101 (1997) 297), an exact solution for the 3D Navier–Stokes equation – an old problem – has been found (A. Muriel, Results Phys. 1 (2011) 2). In this Letter, a second exact conclusion from the above-mentioned work is presented. We analyze the time symmetry properties of a formal, exact solution for the single-particle distribution function contracted from the many-body Liouville equation. This analysis must be done because group theoretic results on time reversal symmetry of the full Liouville equation (E.C.G. Sudarshan, N. Mukunda, Classical Mechanics: A Modern Perspective, Wiley, 1974). no longer applies automatically to the single particle distribution function contracted from the formal solution of the N-body Liouville equation. We find the following result: if the initial momentum distribution is even in the momentum, the single particle distribution is reversible. If there is any asymmetry in the initial momentum distribution, no matter how small, the system is irreversible.