Space-time ergodic properties of systems of infinitely many independent particles

We investigate the ergodic properties of the equilibrium states of systems of infinitely many particles with respect to the group generated by space translations and time evolution. The particles are assumed to move independently in a periodic external field. We show that insofar as good thermodynamic behavior is concerned these properties provide much sharper discrimination than the ergodic properties of the time evolution alone. In particular, we show that though the infinite ideal gas is mixing in the space-time framework, it has vanishing space-time entropy and fails to be a space-timeK-system. On the other hand, if the particles interact with fixed convex scatterers (the Lorentz gas) the system forms a space-timeK-system. Also, the space-time entropy of a system of the type we consider is shown to equal its time entropy per unit volume.Research supported in part by the National Science Foundation Grant No. GP-16147 A No. 1.