We extend stochastic thermodynamics by relaxing the two assumptions that the Markovian dynamics must be linear and that the equilibrium distribution must be a Boltzmann distribution.

We show that if we require the second law to hold when those assumptions are relaxed, then it cannot be formulated in terms of Shannon entropy. However, thermodynamic consistency is salvaged if we reformulate the second law in terms of generalized entropy; our first result is an equation relating the precise form of the non-linear master equation to the precise associated generalized entropy which results in thermodynamic consistency.

We then build on this result to extend the usual trajectory-level definitions of thermodynamic quantities that are appropriate even when the two assumptions are relaxed. We end by using these trajectory-level definitions to derive extended versions of the Crooks fluctuation theorem and Jarzynski equality which apply when the two assumptions are relaxed.

Jan Korbel, David Wolpert, Stochastic thermodynamics and fluctuation theorems for non-linear systems, New Journal of Physics 23 (2021) 033049