July 24, 2001
We present a first physical application of Tsallis' generalized entropy to the thermodynamics of self-gravitating systems. The stellar system confined in a spherical cavity of radius $r_e$ exhibits an instability, so-called gravothermal catastrophe, which has been originally investigated by Antonov (1962) and Lynden-Bell & Wood (1968) on the basis of the maximum entropy principle for the phase-space distribution function. In contrast to previous analyses using the Boltzmann-Gibbs entropy, we apply the Tsallis-type generalized entropy to seek the equilibrium criteria. Then the distribution function of Vlassov-Poisson system can be reduced to the stellar polytrope system. Evaluating the second variation of Tsallis entropy and solving the zero eigenvalue problem explicitly, we find that the gravothermal instability appears in cases with polytrope index $n>5$. The critical point characterizing the onset of instability are obtained, which exactly matches with the results derived from the standard turning-point analysis. The results give an important suggestion that the Tsallis entropy is indeed applicable and viable to the long-range nature of the self-gravitating system.
Similar papers 1
April 15, 2002
We investigate the thermodynamic properties of stellar self-gravitating system arising from the Tsallis generalized entropy. In particular, physical interpretation of the thermodynamic instability, as has been revealed by previous paper(Taruya & Sakagami, cond-mat/0107494, Physica A 307, 185 (2002)), is discussed in detail based on the non-extensive thermostatistics. Examining the Clausius relation in a quasi-static experiment, we obtain the standard result of thermodynamic r...
November 15, 2002
We revisit the issues on the thermodynamic property of stellar self-gravitating system arising from Tsallis' non-extensive entropy. Previous papers (Taruya & Sakagami, Physica A 307 (2002) 185 (cond-mat/0107494); ibid. (2002) in press (cond-mat/0204315)) have revealed that the extremum-state of Tsallis entropy characterized by the so-called stellar polytrope has consistent thermodynamic structure, which predicts the thermodynamic instability due to the negative specific heat....
October 4, 2003
After introducing the fundamental properties of self-gravitating systems, we present an application of Tsallis' generalized entropy to the analysis of their thermodynamic nature. By extremizing the Tsallis entropy, we obtain an equation of state known as the stellar polytrope. For a self-gravitating stellar system confined within a perfectly reflecting wall, we discuss the thermodynamic instability caused by its negative specific heat. The role of the extremum as a quasi-equi...
September 22, 2004
We discuss the meaning of Tsallis functional in astrophysics. The energy functional of a polytropic star is similar to Tsallis free energy and the H-function associated with a stellar polytrope is similar to Tsallis entropy. More generally, the energy functional of a barotropic star is similar to a generalized free energy and the H-function associated with a spherical stellar system is similar to a generalized entropy. Their optimization under appropriate constraints determin...
September 22, 2017
In this letter, we study the limit behavior of the evolution of Tsallis entropy in self-gravitating systems. The study is carried out under two different situations, drawing the same conclusion. No matter in the energy transfer process or in the mass transfer process inside the system, when nonextensive parameter q is more than unity, the total entropy is bounded; on the contrary, when this parameter is less than unity, the total entropy is unbounded. There are proofs in both...
March 18, 2003
With particular attention to the recently postulated introduction of a non-extensive generalization of Boltzmann-Gibbs statistics, we study the long-term stellar dynamical evolution of self-gravitating systems on timescales much longer than the two-body relaxation time. In a self-gravitating N-body system confined in an adiabatic wall, we show that the quasi-equilibrium sequence arising from the Tsallis entropy, so-called stellar polytropes, plays an important role in charact...
November 11, 2014
The pure self-gravitating system in this paper refers to a multi-body gaseous system where the self-gravity plays a dominant role and the intermolecular interactions can be neglected. Therefore its total mass must be much more than a limit mass, the minimum mass of the system exhibiting long-range nature. Thee method to estimate the limit mass is then proposed. The nonequlibrium stationary state in the system is identical to the Tsallis equilibrium state, at which the Tsallis...
July 3, 2002
We complete previous investigations on the thermodynamics of self-gravitating systems by studying the grand canonical, grand microcanonical and isobaric ensembles. We also discuss the stability of polytropic spheres in the light of a generalized thermodynamics proposed by Tsallis. We determine in each case the onset of gravitational instability by analytical methods and graphical constructions in the Milne plane. We also discuss the relation between dynamical and thermodynami...
July 16, 2001
Self-gravitating systems are expected to reach a statistical equilibrium state either through collisional relaxation or violent collisionless relaxation. However, a maximum entropy state does not always exist and the system may undergo a ``gravothermal catastrophe'': it can achieve ever increasing values of entropy by developing a dense and hot ``core'' surrounded by a low density ``halo''. In this paper, we study the phase transition between ``equilibrium'' states and ``coll...
March 6, 2018
The statistical mechanics of a cloud of particles interacting via their gravitational potentials is an old problem which encounters some issues when the traditional Boltzmann-Gibbs statistics is applied. In this article, we consider the generalized statistics of Tsallis and analyze the statistical and thermodynamical implications for a self-gravitating gas, obtaining analytical and convergent expressions for the equation of state and specific heat in the canonical as well as ...