  Unbalanced probability circulation, which yields cyclic motions in phase
space, is the defining characteristics of a stationary diffusion process
without detailed balance. In over-damped soft matter systems, such behavior is
a hallmark of the presence of a sustained external driving force accompanied
with dissipations. In an under-damped and strongly correlated system, however,
cyclic motions are often the consequences of a conservative dynamics. In the
present paper, we give a novel interpretation of a class of diffusion processes
with stationary circulation in terms of a Maxwell-Boltzmann equilibrium in
which cyclic motions are on the level set of stationary probability density
function thus non-dissipative, e.g., a supercurrent. This implies an
orthogonality between stationary circulation $J^{ss}(x)$ and the gradient of
stationary probability density $f^{ss}(x)>0$. A sufficient and necessary
condition for the orthogonality is a decomposition of the drift $b(x)=j(x)+
D(x)\nabla\varphi(x)$ where $\nabla\cdot j(x)=0$ and $j(x)$
$\cdot\nabla\varphi(x)=0$. Stationary processes with Maxwell-Boltzmann
equilibrium has an underlying conservative dynamics $\dot{x}= j(x)\equiv$
$\big(f^{ss}(x)\big)^{-1}J^{ss}(x)$, and a first integral $\varphi(x)\equiv-\ln
f^{ss}(x)=$ const, akin to a Hamiltonian system. At all time, an instantaneous
free energy balance equation exists for a given diffusion system; and an
extended energy conservation law among a family of diffusion processes with
different parameter $\alpha$ can be established via a Helmholtz theorem. For
the general diffusion process without the orthogonality, a nonequilibrium cycle
emerges, which consists of external driven $\varphi$-ascending steps and
spontaneous $\varphi$-descending movements, alternated with iso-$\varphi$
motions. The theory presented here provides a rich mathematical narrative for
complex mesoscopic dynamics.
