Thermodynamic laws in isolated systems
Author(s)
Hilbert, Stefan; Hanggi, Peter; Dunkel, Joern
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The recent experimental realization of exotic matter states in isolated quantum systems and the ensuing controversy about the existence of negative absolute temperatures demand a careful analysis of the conceptual foundations underlying microcanonical thermostatistics. Here we provide a detailed comparison of the most commonly considered microcanonical entropy definitions, focusing specifically on whether they satisfy or violate the zeroth, first, and second laws of thermodynamics. Our analysis shows that, for a broad class of systems that includes all standard classical Hamiltonian systems, only the Gibbs volume entropy fulfills all three laws simultaneously. To avoid ambiguities, the discussion is restricted to exact results and analytically tractable examples.
Date issued
2014-12Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of MathematicsJournal
Physical Review E
Publisher
American Physical Society
Citation
Hilbert, Stefan, Peter Hanggi, and Joern Dunkel. “Thermodynamic Laws in Isolated Systems.” Physical Review E 90.6 (2014): 062116-1-23. © 2014 American Physical Society
Version: Final published version
ISSN
1539-3755
1550-2376