Fluctuation theorem and chaos

The heat theorem (i.e. the second law of thermodynamics or the existence of entropy) is a manifestation of a general property of hamiltonian mechanics and of the ergodic hypothesis. In nonequilibrium thermodynamics of stationary states the chaotic hypothesis plays a similar role: it allows a unique determination of the probability distribution (called SRB distribution) on phase space providing the time averages of the observables. It also implies an expression for a few averages concrete enough to derive consequences of symmetry properties like the fluctuation theorem or to formulate a theory of coarse graining unifying the foundations of equilibrium and of nonequilibrium.