Thermodynamic systems as bosonic strings

arXiv0805.4819MaRDI QIDQ6209731FDOQ6209731

Authors: Hernando Quevedo, Alberto Sánchez, Alejandro Vázquez 

Publication date: 30 May 2008

Abstract: We apply variational principles in the context of geometrothermodynamics. The thermodynamic phase space $calT$ and the space of equilibrium states $calE$ turn out to be described by Riemannian metrics which are invariant with respect to Legendre transformations and satisfy the differential equations following from the variation of a Nambu-Goto-like action. This implies that the volume element of $calE$ is an extremal and that $calE$ and $calT$ are related by an embedding harmonic map. We explore the physical meaning of geodesic curves in $calE$ as describing quasi-static processes that connect different equilibrium states. We present a Legendre invariant metric which is flat (curved) in the case of an ideal (van der Waals) gas and satisfies Nambu-Goto equations. The method is used to derive some new solutions which could represent particular thermodynamic systems.

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