Related papers: Using the Carnot cycle to determine changes of the…
Geometrical approach to the phenomenological theory of phase transitions of the second kind at constant pressure $P$ and variable temperature $T$ is proposed. Equilibrium states of a system at zero external field and fixed $P$ and $T$ are…
In this work we analyze the deviations of reversible cycles (for both heat engines and refrigerators) from the corresponding Carnot cycle operating between the same extreme temperatures and deviations of irreversible cycles from its…
We review the non-zero temperature relaxational dynamics of quantum systems near a zero temperature, second-order phase transition. We begin with the quantum Ising chain, for which universal and exact results for the relaxation rates can be…
At the very foundation of the second law of thermodynamics lies the fact that no heat engine operating between two reservoires of temperatures $T_C\leq T_H$ can overperform the ideal Carnot engine: $\langle W \rangle / \langle Q_H \rangle…
Materials that are constantly driven out of thermodynamic equilibrium, such as active and living systems, typically violate the Einstein relation. This may arise from active contributions to particle fluctuations which are unrelated to the…
We propose a two-stage cycle for an optimized linear-irreversible heat engine that operates, in a finite time, between a hot (cold) reservoir and a finite auxiliary system acting as a sink (source) in the first (second) stage. Under the…
The relationships between reversible Carnot cycles, the absence of perpetual motion machines and the existence of a non-decreasing, globally unique entropy function forms the starting point of many textbook presentations of the foundations…
It is common in many thermodynamic textbooks to illustrate the Carnot theorem through the usage of diverse state equations for gases, paramagnets, and other simple thermodynamic systems. As it is well-known, the universality of the Carnot…
We propose a finite temperature Landau theory that describes competing orders and interlayer tunneling in cuprate superconductors as an important extension to a corresponding theory at zero temperature [Nature {\bf 428}, 53 (2004)], where…
We obtain generalizations of the Kelvin-Planck, Clausius, and Carnot statements of the second law of thermodynamics, for situations involving information processing. To this end, we consider an information reservoir (representing, e.g. a…
Since its inception about two centuries ago thermodynamics has sparkled continuous interest and fundamental questions. According to the second law no heat engine can have an efficiency larger than Carnot's efficiency. The latter can be…
The problem of first order phase transitions in nanoscopic systems is investigated in the framework of Hill's nanothermodynamics. We obtain the equilibrium conditions and a generalized version of the Clapeyron-Clausius equation for a…
Temperature is introduced as a derived concept from energy and entropy. We consider two sub-systems in equilibrium for several configurations. The equality of temperature of the sub-systems is obtained from the equilibrium condition. The…
Random first order transition theory is used to determine the role of attractive and repulsive interactions in the dynamics of supercooled liquids. Self-consistent phonon theory, an approximate mean field treatment consistent with random…
The phenomenon of the glass transition is an unresolved problem of condensed matter physics. Its prominent feature, the super-Arrhenius temperature dependence of the transport coefficients remains a challenge to be described over the full…
More than a century has passed since van't Hoff and Arrhenius formulated their celebrated rate theories, but there are still elusive aspects in the temperature-dependent phase transition kinetics of molecular systems. Here I present a…
Carath\'eodory's formalism for classical thermodynamics is a rich alternative approach to this theory, although unpopular with students and physics professors. This approach dispenses with the content of thermal machines for the…
The minimal set of thermodynamic control parameters consists of a statistical (thermal) and a mechanical one. These suffice to introduce all the pertinent thermodynamic variables; thermodynamic processes can then be defined as paths on this…
One of the oldest science problems - possibility of the perpetuum mobile is discussed. The interest to this problem was provoke a result, published in J. Low Temp.Phys. 112, 227 (1998); cond-mat/9811148, which contradicts to the second law…
Consider a model of particles (nucleons) which has a two-body interaction which leads to bound composites with saturation properties. These properties are : all composites have the same density and the ground state energies of composites…