Thermo-statistics or Topology of the Microcanonical Entropy Surface

Abstract

Boltzmann’s principle S(E, N, V ...) = lnW(E, N, V ...) allows the interpretation of Statistical Mechanics of a closed system as Pseudo-Riemannian geometry in the space of the conserved parameters E, N, V ... (the conserved mechanical parameters in the language of Ruppeiner [1]) without invoking the thermodynamic limit. The topology is controlled by the curvature of S(E, N, V ...). The most interesting region is the region of (wrong) positive maximum curvature, the region of phase-separation. This is demonstrated among others for the equilibrium of a typical non-extensive system, a self-gravitating and rotating cloud in a spherical container at various energies and angular-momenta. A rich variety of realistic configurations, as single stars, multistar systems, rings and finally gas, are obtained as equilibrium microcanonical phases. The global phase diagram, the topology of the curvature, as function of energy and angular-momentum is presented. No exotic form of thermodynamics like Tsallis [2,3] non-extensive one is necessary. It is further shown that a finite (even mesoscopic) system approaches equilibrium with a change of its entropy ΔS ≥ 0 (Second Law) even when its Poincaré recurrence time is not large.