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Whether solid, liquid, or gas, a substance's state depends on the order and arrangement of its particles (atoms, molecules, or ions). Particles in the solid pack closely together, generally in a pattern. The particles vibrate about their fixed positions but do not move or squeeze past their neighbors. In liquids, although the particles are closely spaced, they are randomly arranged. The position of the particles are not fixed—that is, they are free to move past their neighbors to...
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The physical form of a substance changes on changing its temperature. For example, raising the temperature of a liquid causes the liquid to vaporize (convert into vapor). The process is called vaporization—a surface phenomenon. Vaporization occurs when the thermal motion of the molecules overcome the intermolecular forces, and the molecules (at the surface) escape into the gaseous state. When a liquid vaporizes in a closed container, gas molecules cannot escape. As these gas phase...
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Consider an external electric field propagating through a homogeneous medium. When the electric field crosses the surface boundary of the medium, it undergoes a discontinuity. The electric field can be resolved into normal and tangential components. The amount by which the field changes at any boundary is given by the difference between the field components above and below the surface boundary.
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A pure, perfectly crystalline solid possessing no kinetic energy (that is, at a temperature of absolute zero, 0 K) may be described by a single microstate, as its purity, perfect crystallinity,and complete lack of motion means there is but one possible location for each identical atom or molecule comprising the crystal (W = 1). According to the Boltzmann equation, the entropy of this system is zero.
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Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing02:39

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Heating a crystalline solid increases the average energy of its atoms, molecules, or ions, and the solid gets hotter. At some point, the added energy becomes large enough to partially overcome the forces holding the molecules or ions of the solid in their fixed positions, and the solid begins the process of transitioning to the liquid state or melting. At this point, the temperature of the solid stops rising, despite the continual input of heat, and it remains constant until all of the solid is...
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The phase of a given substance depends on the pressure and temperature. Thus, plots of pressure versus temperature showing the phase in each region provide considerable insights into the thermal properties of substances. Such plots are known as phase diagrams. For instance, in the phase diagram for water (Figure 1), the solid curve boundaries between the phases indicate phase transitions (i.e., temperatures and pressures at which the phases coexist).
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Current fluctuations in nonequilibrium discontinuous phase transitions.

C E Fiore1, Pedro E Harunari1,2, C E Fernández Noa1

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This study reveals how fluctuating currents, not just averages, characterize discontinuous phase transitions. It uncovers how system lifetime impacts these fluctuations, offering new insights into non-equilibrium thermodynamics.

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Area of Science:

  • Non-equilibrium statistical mechanics
  • Thermodynamics
  • Complex systems

Background:

  • Discontinuous phase transitions out of equilibrium are characterized by stochastic currents.
  • Understanding higher-order current statistics beyond averages is crucial but less developed.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of diverging metastability lifetime on thermodynamic current fluctuations during discontinuous transitions.
  • To analyze conditional statistics based on system phase and the interplay of integration window and metastability lifetime.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of conditional statistics for thermodynamic currents.
  • Introduction of conditional currents and their connection to average and scaled variance.
  • Application of finite-time large deviation theory and a minimal model.
  • Verification in Schlögl's model and a 12-state Potts model.

Main Results:

  • Metastability lifetime significantly influences current fluctuations, unlike average currents.
  • Conditional currents reveal new insights into non-equilibrium systems.
  • Predictions derived from large deviation theory and minimal models are validated.

Conclusions:

  • Fluctuations of thermodynamic currents, particularly under diverging metastability, provide deeper characterization of discontinuous phase transitions.
  • The interplay between integration window and metastability lifetime is key to understanding these fluctuations.