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Numerical comparison of two approaches for the study of phase transitions in small systems
Nelson A Alves1, Jeaneti P N Ferrite, Ulrich H E Hansmann
1Departamento de Física e Matemática, FFCLRP Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes 3900, CEP 014040-901, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. alves@quark.ffclrp.usp.br
Abstract:
We compare two recently proposed methods for the characterization of phase transitions in small systems. The validity and usefulness of these approaches are studied for the cases of the q=4 and q=5 Potts model, i.e., systems where a thermodynamic limit and exact results exist. Guided by this analysis we then discuss the helix-coil transition in polyalanine, an example of structural transitions in biological molecules.