Fluctuations in nonlinear Markovian systems

We study nonlinear irreversible processes by statistical mechanical methods from a general point of view. Assuming that the macroscopic variables behave approximatively Markovian we derive evolution equations for the mean values as well as for the fluctuations about the mean. The mean values obey nonlinear transport equations and the fluctuations obey linear nonstationary Langevin equations. The equations of motion are completely specified by the entropy and the transport coefficients as functions of the macroscopic state. The theory provides a statistical mechanical basis for some phenomenological approaches put forward recently.