On the interpretation of a computer experiment on classical Coulomb plasma

The conclusions on the violations of some of the basic principles of statistical mechanics and physical kinetics - reported by Mayorov, Tkachev, and Yakovlenko (MTY) - are shown to be insufficiently substantiated. MTY have drawn these conclusions from the results of their computer experiment with a classical Coulomb plasma; however, these data are found to admit an alternative interpretation. The alleged necessity to reject the detailed balancing principle is shown not to be an inevitable consequence of the MTY simulation results; this necessity is also discarded by the microscopic process analysis in the present study. Contrary to the MTY implicit assumption, the behaviour of the considered plasma in substantially dependent on near-wall phenomena. 7 refs., 1 fig