Gravothermal Catastrophe and Generalized Entropy of Self-Gravitating Systems

The long-standing puzzle surrounding the statistical mechanics of self-gravitating systems has not yet been solved successfully. We formulate a systematic theoretical framework of entropy-based statistical mechanics for spherically symmetric collisionless self-gravitating systems. We use an approach that is very different from that of the conventional statistical mechanics of short-range interaction systems. We demonstrate that the equilibrium states of self-gravitating syste...

The collapse of a collisionless self-gravitating system, with the fast achievement of a quasi-stationary state, is driven by violent relaxation, with a typical particle interacting with the time-changing collective potential. It is traditionally assumed that this evolution is governed by the Vlasov-Poisson equation, in which case entropy must be conserved. We run N-body simulations of isolated self-gravitating systems, using three simulation codes: NBODY-6 (direct summation w...

The statistical mechanics of self-gravitating systems has not been well understood, and still remains an open question so far. In a previous study by Kang & He, we showed that the fluid approximation may give a clue to further investigate this problem. In fact, there are indeed many dynamical similarities between self-gravitating and fluid systems. Based on a fluid-like entropy, that work explained successfully the outer density profiles of dark matter halos, but there left s...

The properties of the nonextensive parameter q and the Tsallis distribution for self-gravitating systems are studied. A mathematical expression of q is deduced based on the generalized Boltzmann equation, the q-H theorem and the generalized Maxwellian q-velocity distribution in the framework of Tsallis statistics. We obtain a clear understanding of the physics of q different from unity with regard to the temperature gradient and the gravitational potential of the self-gravita...

We discuss the physical basis of the statistical mechanics of self-gravitating systems. We show the correspondance between statistical mechanics methods based on the evaluation of the density of states and partition function and thermodynamical methods based on the maximization of a thermodynamical potential (entropy or free energy). We address the question of the thermodynamic limit of self-gravitating systems, the justification of the mean-field approximation, the validity ...

We investigate the stability of bounded self-gravitating systems in the canonical ensemble by using a thermodynamical approach. Our study extends the earlier work of Padmanabhan [Astrophys. J. Supp. 71, 651 (1989)] in the microcanonical ensemble. By studying the second variations of the free energy, we find that instability sets in precisely at the point of minimum temperature in agreement with the theorem of Katz [ Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 183, 765 (1978)]. The perturbation t...

(abbreviated) The statistical mechanics of self-gravitating systems is a long-held puzzle. In this work, we employ a phenomenological entropy form of ideal gas, first proposed by White & Narayan, to revisit this issue. By calculating the first-order variation of the entropy, subject to the mass- and energy-conservation constraints, we obtain an entropy stationary equation. Incorporated with the Jeans equation, and by specifying some functional form for the anisotropy paramete...

It is natural important question for us to ask what the nonextensive parameter stands for when Tsallis statistics is applied to the self-gravitating systems. In this paper, some properties of the nonextensive parameter and Tsallis equilibrium distribution for the self-gravitating system are discussed in the framework of nonextensive kinetic theory. On the basis of the solid mathematical foundation, the nonextensive parameter can be expressed by a formula with temperature grad...

Certain thermal non-equilibrium situations, outside of the astrophysical realm, suggest that entropy production extrema, instead of entropy extrema, are related to stationary states. In an effort to better understand the evolution of collisionless self-gravitating systems, we investigate the role of entropy production and develop expressions for the entropy production rate in two particular statistical families that describe self-gravitating systems. From these entropy produc...

We describe microcanonical phase transitions and instabilities of the ideal Fermi gas in general relativity at nonzero temperature confined in the interior of a spherical shell. The thermodynamic behaviour is governed by the compactness of rest mass, namely of the total rest mass over radius of the system. For a fixed value of rest mass compactness, we study the caloric curves as a function of the size of the spherical box. At low compactness values, low energies and for suff...