  We propose a new sensitivity analysis methodology for complex stochastic
dynamics based on the Relative Entropy Rate. The method becomes computationally
feasible at the stationary regime of the process and involves the calculation
of suitable observables in path space for the Relative Entropy Rate and the
corresponding Fisher Information Matrix. The stationary regime is crucial for
stochastic dynamics and here allows us to address the sensitivity analysis of
complex systems, including examples of processes with complex landscapes that
exhibit metastability, non-reversible systems from a statistical mechanics
perspective, and high-dimensional, spatially distributed models. All these
systems exhibit, typically non-gaussian stationary probability distributions,
while in the case of high-dimensionality, histograms are impossible to
construct directly. Our proposed methods bypass these challenges relying on the
direct Monte Carlo simulation of rigorously derived observables for the
Relative Entropy Rate and Fisher Information in path space rather than on the
stationary probability distribution itself. We demonstrate the capabilities of
the proposed methodology by focusing here on two classes of problems: (a)
Langevin particle systems with either reversible (gradient) or non-reversible
(non-gradient) forcing, highlighting the ability of the method to carry out
sensitivity analysis in non-equilibrium systems; and, (b) spatially extended
Kinetic Monte Carlo models, showing that the method can handle high-dimensional
problems.
