Nonequilibrium fluctuations

Nonequilibrium steady states are fascinating systems to study. Although there are many parallels between these states and equilibrium states, a convincing theoretical description of steady states, particularly far from equilibrium, has yet to be found. Close to equilibrium, linear response theory and linear irreversible thermodynamics provide a relatively complete treatment, (Sections 2.1 to 2.3). However, in systems where local thermodynamic equilibrium has broken down, and thermodynamic properties are not the same local functions of thermodynamic state variables that they are at equilibrium, our understanding is very primitive indeed.