Lorenzetti, Lorenzo (2024) Making Sense of Gravitational Thermodynamics. [Preprint]
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Abstract
The use of statistical methods to model gravitational systems is crucial to physics practice, but the extent to which thermodynamics and statistical mechanics genuinely apply to these systems is a contentious issue. This paper provides new conceptual foundations for gravitational thermodynamics by reconsidering the nature of key concepts like equilibrium and advancing a novel way of understanding thermodynamics. The challenges arise from the peculiar characteristics of the gravitational potential, leading to non-extensive energy and entropy, negative heat capacity, and a lack of standard equilibrium. Hence it has been claimed that only non-equilibrium statistical mechanics is warranted in this domain, whereas thermodynamics is inapplicable. We argue instead that equilibrium statistical mechanics applies to self-gravitating systems at the relevant scale, as they display equilibrium in the form of metastable quasi-equilibrium states. We then develop a minimal framework for thermodynamics that can be applied to these systems and beyond. Thermodynamics applies in the sense that we can devise macroscopic descriptions and explanations of the behaviour of these systems in terms of coarse-grained quantities within equilibrium statistical mechanics.
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| Item Type: | Preprint | ||||||
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| Additional Information: | Draft | ||||||
| Keywords: | Gravitational Thermodynamics; Thermodynamics; Statistical Mechanics; Gravitational Physics; Globular Clusters; Astrophysics; Idealisations | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Physics > Astrophysics General Issues > Models and Idealization General Issues > Reductionism/Holism Specific Sciences > Physics > Statistical Mechanics/Thermodynamics |
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| Depositing User: | Lorenzo Lorenzetti | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 19 Feb 2024 04:52 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 19 Feb 2024 04:52 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 23104 | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Physics > Astrophysics General Issues > Models and Idealization General Issues > Reductionism/Holism Specific Sciences > Physics > Statistical Mechanics/Thermodynamics |
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| Date: | 2024 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/23104 |
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