Explicit construction of an autonomous Hamiltonian system exhibiting continual directed flow

We construct a prototypical example of a spatially-open autonomous Hamiltonian system in which localised, but otherwise unbiased, ensembles of initial conditions break spatio-temporal symmetries in the subsequent ensemble dynamics, despite time reversal symmetry of the equations of motion. Together with transient chaos, this provides the mechanism for the occurrence of a current. Transporting trajectories pass through transient chaos and subsequently cross surfaces of no-return, after which they perform solely regular motion so that the current is of continual ballistic nature.