Phase transition
From Encyclopedia of Mathematics
The printable version is no longer supported and may have rendering errors. Please update your browser bookmarks and please use the default browser print function instead.
A physical phenomenon that occurs in macroscopic systems and consists in the following. In certain equilibrium states of the system an arbitrary small influence leads to a sudden change of its properties: the system passes from one homogeneous phase to another. Mathematically, a phase transition is treated as a sudden change of the structure and properties of the so-called Gibbs distributions describing the equilibrium states of the system, for arbitrary small changes of the parameters determining the equilibrium (cf. Gibbs distribution; Gibbs statistical aggregate).
References
[1] | L.D. Landau, E.M. Lifshitz, "Statistical physics" , Pergamon (1980) (Translated from Russian) |
[2] | Ya.G. Sinai, "Theory of phase transitions" , Pergamon (1982) (Translated from Russian) |
Comments
References
[a1] | H.L. Frisch (ed.) J.L. Lebowitz (ed.) , The equilibrium theory of classical fluids , Benjamin (1964) |
[a2] | H.E. Stanley, "Introduction to phase transitions and critical phenomena" , Pergamon (1971) |
How to Cite This Entry:
Phase transition. R.A. Minlos (originator), Encyclopedia of Mathematics. URL: http://encyclopediaofmath.org/index.php?title=Phase_transition&oldid=19100
Phase transition. R.A. Minlos (originator), Encyclopedia of Mathematics. URL: http://encyclopediaofmath.org/index.php?title=Phase_transition&oldid=19100
This text originally appeared in Encyclopedia of Mathematics - ISBN 1402006098