English

Negative heat capacities and first order phase transitions in nuclei and other mesoscopic systems

Nuclear Theory 2007-05-23 v2 Condensed Matter

Abstract

The origin of predicted and observed anomalies in caloric curves of nuclei and other mesoscopic systems is investigated. It is shown that a straightforward thermodynamical treatment of an evaporating liquid drop leads to a backbending in the caloric curve and to negative specific heats in the two phase coexistence region. The cause is found not in the generation of additional surface, but in the progressive reduction of the drop's radius, and surface, with evaporation.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.nucl-th/0012037,
  title  = {Negative heat capacities and first order phase transitions in nuclei and other mesoscopic systems},
  author = {L. G. Moretto and J. B. Elliott and L. Phair and G. J. Wozniak},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:nucl-th/0012037},
  year   = {2007}
}

Comments

five pages, two columns, four figures, added references