On some derivations of Irreversible Thermodynamics from dynamical systems theory

Recently proposed models of nonequilibrium systems use noninteracting particle systems, hence cannot possess the property of Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (LTE). The theories built around these models lead to the conclusion that the development of singular phase space distributions in chaotic dynamical systems constitute the fundamental mechanism at the origin of thermodynamic entropy production. We argue that this is not the case, and that the laws of Irreversible Thermodynamics only hold in the presence of LTE.