Large-scale fluctuations of the largest Lyapunov exponent in diffusive systems

We present a general formalism for computing the largest Lyapunov exponent and its fluctuations in spatially extended systems described by diffusive fluctuating hydrodynamics, thus extending the concepts of dynamical system theory to a broad range of non-equilibrium systems. Our analytical results compare favourably with simulations of a lattice model of heat conduction. We further show how the computation of the Lyapunov exponent for the symmetric simple exclusion process relates to damage spreading and to a two-species pair annihilation process, for which our formalism yields new finite-size results.