Eur. Phys. J. Special Topics 224, 947–968 (2015)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjst/e2015-02438-3

Regular Article

Extended local equilibrium approach to stochastic thermodynamics

¹ Center for Nonlinear Phenomena and Complex Systems (CENOLI), Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Campus Plaine, CP 231, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
² Nonlinear Physical Chemistry Unit, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Campus Plaine, CP 231, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
³ Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, 14412 Potsdam, Germany

Received: 11 March 2015
Revised: 7 May 2015
Published online: 17 July 2015

Abstract

A new approach to stochastic thermodynamics is developed, in which the local equilibrium hypothesis is extended to incorporate the effect of fluctuations. A fluctuating entropy in the form of a random functional of the fluctuating state variables is introduced, whose balance equation allows to identify the stochastic entropy flux and stochastic entropy production. The statistical properties of these quantities are analyzed and illustrated on representative examples.