Understanding critical behavior in the framework of the extended equilibrium fluctuation theorem

Abstract

Recently (arXiv:0910.2870), we have derived a fluctuation theorem for systems in thermodynamic equilibrium compatible with anomalous response functions, e.g. the existence of states with \textit{negative heat capacities} $C<0$. In this work, we show that the present approach of the fluctuation theory introduces new insights in the understanding of \textit{critical phenomena}. Specifically, the new theorem predicts that the environmental influence can radically affect critical behavior of systems, e.g. to provoke a suppression of the divergence of correlation length $\xi$ and some of its associated phenomena as spontaneous symmetry breaking. Our analysis reveals that while response functions and state equations are \emph{intrinsic properties} for a given system, critical behaviors are always \emph{relative phenomena}, that is, their existence crucially depend on the underlying environmental influence.

References in corpus (6)

• Thermodynamic fluctuation relation for temperature and energy
• Uncertainty relations of Statistical Mechanics
• Equilibrium fluctuation theorems compatible with anomalous response
• Geometrical aspects and connections of the energy-temperature fluctuation relation
• Extending canonical Monte Carlo methods
• Extending canonical Monte Carlo methods II

Cited by in corpus (2)

• Improving the efficiency of Monte Carlo simulations of systems that undergo temperature-driven phase transitions
• Extended canonical Monte Carlo methods: Improving accuracy of microcanonical calculations using a re-weighting technique