The GENERIC equation is usually written as :\frac{dx}{dt}=L(x)\cdot\frac{\delta E}{\delta x}(x)+M(x)\cdot\frac{\delta S}{\delta x}(x). Here: • x denotes a set of
variables used to describe the
state space. The vector x can also contain variables depending on a continuous index like a temperature field. In general, x is a function S\rightarrow\mathbb R, where the set S can contain both discrete and continuous indexes. Example: x=(U,V,T(\vec r)) for a gas with nonuniform temperature, contained in a volume \Sigma\subset\mathbb R^3 (S=\{1,2\}\cup\Sigma) • E(x), S(x) are the system's total
energy and
entropy. For purely discrete state variables, these are simply functions from \mathbb R^n to \mathbb R, for continuously indexed x, they are
functionals • \delta E/\delta x, \delta S/\delta x are the derivatives of E and S. In the discrete case, it is simply the
gradient, for continuous variables, it is the
functional derivative (a function S\rightarrow\mathbb R) • the
Poisson matrix L(x) is an
antisymmetric matrix (possibly depending on the continuous indexes) describing the reversible dynamics of the system according to
Hamiltonian mechanics. The related
Poisson bracket fulfills the
Jacobi identity. {{cite journal |author=M. Kröger and M. Hütter |title=Automated symbolic calculations in nonequilibrium thermodynamics |journal=Comput. Phys. Commun. |volume=181 |issue=12 |pages=2149–2157 |year=2010 |doi=10.1016/j.cpc.2010.07.050 • the
friction matrix M(x) is a
positive semidefinite (and hence symmetric) matrix describing the system's irreversible behaviour. In addition to the above equation and the properties of its constituents, systems that ought to be properly described by the GENERIC formalism are required to fulfill the
degeneracy conditions :L(x)\cdot\frac{\delta S}{\delta x}(x)=0 :M(x)\cdot\frac{\delta E}{\delta x}(x)=0 which express the conservation of entropy under reversible dynamics and of energy under irreversible dynamics, respectively. The conditions on L (antisymmetry and some others) express that the energy is reversibly conserved, and the condition on M (positive semidefiniteness) express that the entropy is irreversibly non-decreasing. ==Related Applications and Simulation Methods==