A master equation description of local fluctuations

A theory of fluctuations of macrovariables in nonequilibrium systems based on a nonlinear master equation is outlined. This equation takes into account, via a "mean field" type of approximation, the effect of the spatial extension of fluctuations. A comparison with the birth and death formalism reveals several unsatisfactory features of the latter. © 1975 Plenum Publishing Corporation.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe