We review the non-relativistic Green's-function approach to the kinetic
equations for Fermi liquids far from equilibrium. The emphasis is on the
consistent treatment of the off-shell motion between collisions and on the
non-instant and non-local picture of binary collisions. The resulting kinetic
equation is of the Boltzmann type, and it represents an interpolation between
the theory of transport in metals and the theory of moderately dense gases. The
free motion of particles is renormalised by various mean field and mass
corrections in the spirit of Landau's quasiparticles in metals. The collisions
are non-local in the spirit of Enskog's theory of non-ideal gases. The
collisions are moreover non-instant, a feature which is absent in the theory of
gases, but which is shown to be important for dense Fermi systems. In spite of
its formal complexity, the presented theory has a simple implementation within
the Monte-Carlo simulation schemes. Applications in nuclear physics are given
for heavy-ion reactions and the results are compared with the former theory and
recent experimental data. The effect of the off-shell motion and the non-local
and non-instant collisions on the dynamics of the system can be characterised
in terms of thermodynamic functions such as the energy density or the pressure
tensor. Non-equilibrium counterparts of these functions and the corresponding
balance equations are derived and discussed from two points of view. Firstly,
they are used to prove the conservation laws. Secondly, the role of individual
microscopic mechanisms in fluxes of particles and momenta and in
transformations of the energy is clarified.Comment: Boo
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