The linear response framework was established a half-century ago, but no persuasive direct derivation of entropy production has been given in this scheme. This long-term puzzle has now been solved in the present paper. The irreversible part of the entropy production in the present theory is...

Some general aspects of nonlinear transport phenomena are discussed on the basis of two kinds of formulations obtained by extending Kubo’s perturbational scheme of the density matrix and Zubarev’s non-equilibrium statistical operator formulation. Both formulations are extended up to infinite...

A new variational principle of steady states is found by introducing an integrated type of energy dissipation (or entropy production) instead of instantaneous energy dissipation. This new principle is valid both in linear and nonlinear transport phenomena. Prigogine’s dream has now been...