Related papers: Boltzmann and Gibbs: An Attempted Reconciliation
The Boltzmann and Gibbs approaches to statistical mechanics have very different definitions of equilibrium and entropy. The problems associated with this are discussed and it is suggested that they can be resolved, to produce a version of…
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…
Equilibrium statistical mechanics is intended to link the microscopic dynamics of particles to the thermodynamic laws for macroscopic quantities. However, the modern statistical theory is faced with significant difficulties, as applied to…
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…
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…
For studying the thermodynamic properties of systems using statistical mechanics we propose an ensemble that lies in between the familiar canonical and microcanonical ensembles. From a comparative study of these ensembles we conclude that…
There is no compelling reason imposing that the methods of statistical mechanics should be restricted to the dynamical systems which follow the usual Boltzmann-Gibbs prescriptions. More specifically, ubiquitous natural and artificial…
Gibbs and Boltzmann definitions of temperature agree only in the macroscopic limit. The ambiguity in identifying the equilibrium temperature of a finite sized `small' system exchanging energy with a bath is usually understood as a…
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…
In Boltzmannian statistical mechanics macro-states supervene on micro-states. This leads to a partitioning of the state space of a system into regions of macroscopically indistinguishable micro-states. The largest of these regions is…
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…
The statistical mechanics of Gibbs is a juxtaposition of subjective, probabilistic ideas on the one hand and objective, mechanical ideas on the other. In this paper, we follow the path set out by Jaynes, including elements added…
Quantum mechanics and classical statistical mechanics are two physical theories that share several analogies in their mathematical apparatus and physical foundations. In particular, classical statistical mechanics is hallmarked by the…
Our goal is to present the basic results on one-dimensional Gibbs and equilibrium states viewed as special invariant measures on symbolic dynamical systems, and then to describe without technicalities a sample of results they allowed to…
Statistical thermodynamics is valuable as a conceptual structure that shapes our thinking about equilibrium thermodynamic states. A cloud of unresolved questions surrounding the foundations of the theory could lead an impartial observer to…
A critical examination of some basic conceptual issues in classical statistical mechanics is attempted, with a view to understanding the origins, structure and statuts of that discipline. Due attention is given to the interplay between…
Equilibrium statistics of Hamiltonian systems is correctly described by the microcanonical ensemble. Classically this is the manifold of all points in the N-body phase space with the given total energy. Due to Boltzmann's principle,…
The use of statistical methods to model gravitational systems is crucial to physics practice, but the extent to which thermodynamics and statistical mechanics genuinely apply to these systems is a contentious issue. This paper provides new…
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…
In economics, construction of perfect models in a way that would be comparable to the standards customary in physical sciences is generally not feasible. In particular, the observed value for an economic equilibrium may deviate…