Representation of the nonequilibrium steady-state distribution function for sheared granular systems

We derive the representation of the nonequilibrium steady-state distribution function which is expressed in terms of the excess free energy production. This representation resembles the one derived recently by Komatsu and Nakagawa [Phys. Rev. Lett. 100 (2008), 030601] resting on the use of microscopic time-reversal symmetry, but our representation applies also to sheared granular systems in which such a symmetry is broken.