Mesoscopic Transport Beyond Linear Response

We present an approach to steady-state mesoscopic transport based on the masimum entropy principle formulation of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics. Our approach is not limited to the linear response regime. This approach yields the quantization observed in the integer quantum Hall effect at large currents, which until now has been unexplained. We also predict new behaviors of nonlocal resistances at large currents in the presence of dirty contacts. © 1993 The American Physical Society