Related papers: Boltzmann, Gibbs and the Concept of Equilibrium
There are three levels of description in classical statistical mechanics, the microscopic/dynamic, the macroscopic/statistical and the thermodynamic. At one end there is a well-used concept of equilibrium in thermodynamics and at the other…
The Gibbs entropy of a macroscopic classical system is a function of a probability distribution over phase space, i.e., of an ensemble. In contrast, the Boltzmann entropy is a function on phase space, and is thus defined for an individual…
In a recent article, Werndl and Frigg discuss the relationship between the Boltzmannian and Gibbsian framework of statistical mechanics, addressing in particular the question when equilibrium values calculated in both frameworks agree. In…
General relationship between mean Boltzmann entropy and Gibbs entropy is established. It is found that their difference is equal to fluctuation entropy, which is a Gibbs-like entropy of macroscopic quantities. The ratio of the fluctuation…
Regardless of studies and debates over a century, the statistical origin of the second law of thermodynamics still remains illusive. One essential obstacle is the lack of a proper theoretical formalism for non-equilibrium entropy. Here I…
The received wisdom in statistical mechanics is that isolated systems, when left to themselves, approach equilibrium. But under what circumstances does an equilibrium state exist and an approach to equilibrium take place? In this paper we…
For a dynamical system far from equilibrium, one has to deal with empirical probabilities defined through time-averages, and the main problem is then how to formulate an appropriate statistical thermodynamics. The common answer is that the…
Thermodynamics makes definite predictions about the thermal behavior of macroscopic systems in and out of equilibrium. Statistical mechanics aims to derive this behavior from the dynamics and statistics of the atoms and molecules making up…
In statistical mechanics, measuring the number of available states and their probabilities, and thus the system's entropy, enables the prediction of the macroscopic properties of a physical system at equilibrium. This predictive capacity…
An unified thermodynamical framework based in the use of a generalized Massieu-Planck thermodynamic potential is proposed and a new formulation of Boltzmann-Gibbs Statistical Mechanics is established. Under this philosophy a generalization…
Statistical physics is important in understanding the physics of interacting many bodies. This has been historically developed by attempts to understand colliding gases and quantifying quantities like entropy, free energy, and other…
We formulate the problem of approach to equilibrium in algebraic quantum statistical mechanics and study some of its structural aspects, focusing on the relation between the zeroth law of thermodynamics (approach to equilibrium) and the…
Statistical formulations of thermodynamic entropy, such as those by Boltzmann and Gibbs, were originally developed for classical systems and are well understood in that context. However, the foundational aspects of quantum statistical…
A survey of the approach to Statistical Mechanics following Boltzmann's theory of ensembles and ergodic hypothesis leading to chaoticity as a unifying principle of equilibrium and nonequilibrium Statistical Mechanics.
Equilibrium is a central concept of statistical mechanics. In previous work we introduced the notions of a Boltzmannian alpha-epsilon-equilibrium and a Boltzmannian gamma-varepsilon-equilibrium (Werndl and Frigg 2015a, 2015b). This was done…
This paper analyzes the ergodic hypothesis in the context of Boltzmann's late work in statistical mechanics, where Boltzmann lays the foundations for what is today known as the typicality account. I argue that, based on the concepts of…
Boltzmann-Gibbs statistical mechanics is based on the entropy $S_{BG}=-k \sum_{i=1}^W p_i \ln p_i$. It enables a successful thermal approach of ubiquitous systems, such as those involving short-range interactions, markovian processes, and,…
The long standing contrast between Boltzmann's and Gibbs' approach to statistical thermodynamics has been recently rekindled by Dunkel and Hilbert [1], who criticize the notion of negative absolute temperature (NAT), as a misleading…
A heuristic generalization of the Boltzmann-Gibbs microcanonical entropy is proposed, able to describe meta-equilibrium features and evolution of macroscopic systems. Despite its simple-minded derivation, such a function of "collective…
Ergodicity, this is to say, dynamics whose time averages coincide with ensemble averages, naturally leads to Boltzmann-Gibbs (BG) statistical mechanics, hence to standard thermodynamics. This formalism has been at the basis of an enormous…