Field Theory of Non Equilibrium Systems

Physicalkineticsisthe?nalsectionofthecourseoftheoreticalphysics in its standard presentation. It stays at the boundary between g- eral theories and their applications (solid state theory, theory of gases, plasma, and so on), because the treatment of kinetic phenomena always depends on speci?c structural features of materials. On the other hand, the physical kinetics as a part of the quantum theory of macroscopic systems is far from being complete. A number of its fundamental - sues, such as the problem of irreversibility and mechanisms of chaotic responses, are now attracting considerable attention. Other important sections, for example, kinetic phenomena in disordered and/or strongly non-equilibrium systems and, in particular, phase transitions in these systems, are currently under investigation. The quantum theory of m- surements and quantum information processing actively developing in the last decade are based on the quantum kinetic theory. Because a deductive theoretical exposition of the subject is not c- venient, the authors restrict themselves to a lecture-style presentation. Now the physical kinetics seems to be at the stage of development when, according to Newton, studying examples is more instructive than lea- ing rules. In view of these circumstances, the methods of the kinetic theory are presented here not in a general form but as applications for description of speci?c systems and treatment of particular kinetic p- nomena. The quantum features of kinetic phenomena can arise for several r- sons.

The nonequilibrium behavior of nanoscopic and biological systems, which are typically strongly fluctuating, is a major focus of current research. Lately, much progress has been made in understanding such systems from a thermodynamic perspective. However, new theoretical challenges emerge when the fluctuating system is additionally subject to time delay, e.g. due to the presence of feedback loops.